Olympic Posters: Dive into the Olympics

SHAPERO Modern NOW OPEN  until the end of August The Olympic Games commenced last Friday with a spectacular ceremony and to celebrate Team GB’s recent success, we’re diving straight in with a selection of works from our rare collection of original prints from the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, which all revolve around the theme of water.  David Hockeny, Diving: The 1972 Olympic Games, 1971 Earlier this week, Team GB’s Tom Daley and Noah Williams won an Olympic silver medal with their extremely impressive Men’s Synchronised 10m Platform routine. To celebrate their achievement, we are highlighting David Hockney’s elegant print of a diver suspended in time just before he touches the fragmented body of water. This print not only lends itself to his ‘pool’ series that Hockney was creating at the time, but also showcases his skill in capturing fleeting moments through his bold design and playful colours. Josef Albers, Olympische Spiele München 1972, 1970 Josef Albers, a renowned colour theorist, is principally remembered for his ‘Homage to the Square’ series, which explores how nested squares of differing colours with contrasting form and hue impact the audience’s perception. For his 1972 Olympic piece, he applied this theory to create an abstracted swimming pool that can be interpreted from multiple perspectives. R.B. Kitaj, Olympische Spiele München 1972, 1971 R.B. Kitaj’s screenprint, which depicts a fragmented head and an arm cut off at the water’s surface, draws attention to the enormous physical demands of the Games on the human body! Whilst the bright colours and overlapping planes are characteristic of his style.  Jan Lenica, Olympische Spiele München 1972, 1969 Polish graphic designer Jan Lenica, created a cascade of shades of blue, evoking a breaking wave; which seem particularly apt given the recent inclusion of surfing in the Olympics, which this year is being held over 10,000 miles away in Tahiti, in French Polynesia.  These commissioned prints, produced by world renowned artists, brought high art into the public domain and embody the Olympic spirit, with both athletes and spectators being invited to have an active role in the Games. Join us at our Maddox Street gallery, or view online, for this celebration of art and sport in our current selling exhibition, on view until the end of August.  CONTACT SHAPERO MODERN

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Federica Marconi

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