CLOCKWISE TOP LEFT: SAMUEL FOSSO, MUHAMMAD ALI, ST SEBASTIEN, FROM AFRICAN SPIRITS SERIES, 2008, COLLECTION OF ISABEL STAINOW WILCOX, COURTESY JEAN MARC PATRAS, PARIS; JARED MCGRIFF, THE PRACTICE OF SELF PROTECTION AT ALL TIMES, 2023, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND SPINELLO PROJECTS; DANIEL ARSHAM, BLUE CALCITE BOXING SET, 2016, COLLECTION OF LARRY WARSH, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND PERROTIN, PHOTO: GUILLAUME ZICCARELLI; CHASE HALL, CHAMPION, 2023, ©CHASE HALL, PHOTO: JEFF MCLANE, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND DAVID KORDANSKY GALLERY
Opening at the Norton Museum of Art on October 26, 2024 is Strike Fast, Dance Lightly: Artists on Boxing. The exhibition will be the largest comprehensive survey of artistic representation of boxing in more than 20 years, and features paintings, videos, sculptures, and works on paper by artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Edward Hopper, Ed Ruscha, Alison Saar, Derrick Adams, Hernan Bas, Katherine Bradford, and many more.
Spanning from the 1870’s through the present day, the Norton’s one of a kind presentation will illuminate the connections between boxing and society, while underscoring the rich history of the centuries old sport and its participants through all its complexities. The exhibition will explore the global and cultural impact of the sport with themes relating to the body, race and culture, sexuality, and the artist as boxer.
ROSE MARIE CROMWELL, THE MIRROR, 2023 FROM THE SERIES PUGILISTA, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST; ROSE MARIE CROMWELL, THE GYM, 2023 FROM THE SERIES PUGILISTA, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
The Norton’s exhibition is a collaboration with two New York arts organizations, The FLAG Art Foundation, New York, and The Church, Sag Harbor, where three exhibitions were created around one comprehensive theme of boxing with more than 110 artworks by artists that also include Amoako Boafo, Zoë Buckman, Rosalyn Drexler, Allegra Pacheco, Jeffrey Gibson, and Gary Simmons.
ANDRES SERRANO, FLOYD JOY MAYWEATHER JR., 2006, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND GALERIE NATHALIE OBADIA, PARIS/BRUSSELS
Among the roster of cutting edge and leading contemporary artists, the exhibition features drawings by famed boxer and activist Muhammad Ali, offering a unique insider’s perspective. This is juxtaposed by Harry Benson’s iconic photo of Muhammad Ali with the Beatles in 1964 which introduced the intersection of the sport and celebrity fame.
GEORGE BELLOWS, INTRODUCING JOHN L SULLIVAN, 1923, WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, NEW YORK; GIFT OF THE JOHN HAY WHITNEY ESTATE 83.2.2; JERRY MCMILLAN, JUDY CHICAGO BOXING RING, 1970, © JERRY MCMILLAN, COURTESY OF CRAIG KRULL GALLERY, SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA
One of the oldest works in the exhibition is a short film of two cats “boxing” by William K.L. Dickson and William Heise, 1894, showing the humor in the sport. Edward Hopper’s, Study of a Boxer, 1899 – 1906, highlights the power and athleticism of competitors. George Bellows’ Introducing John L. Sullivan, 1923, depicts a ring announcer and evokes the theatrical energy infused between the four corners of the ring ahead of a match-up. Additional highlights include thought provoking pieces like Jeffrey Gibson’s Manifest Destiny, 2016, a repurposed punching bag inspired by Native American visual culture.
OTIS KWAME KYE QUAICOE, UNTITLED III, 2024, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND ROBERTS PROJECTS, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, PHOTO: PAUL SALVESON
“Strike Fast, Dance Lightly: Artists on Boxing is unlike anything we’ve done at the Norton,” said Ghislain d’Humières, Kenneth C. Griffin Director and CEO of the Norton Museum of Art. “The exhibition has a raw intensity that visitors will feel the minute they step into the galleries, exploring themes such as power and resilience that will speak to both sports fanatics and art lovers alike.”
Strike Fast, Dance Lightly: Artists on Boxing
October 26, 2024, to March 9, 2025
Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL.
