Andy Warhol - Speed Skater (FS IIB.303) (Trial Proof)
Artist: Andy Warhol
Year: 1983
Medium: Screenprint on Arches 88 paper.
Edition: Edition of 15TP, signed and numbered in pencil lower right. Unique proof.
Size: 33 1/2 × 25 1/2 in | 85.1 × 64.8 cm
The Speed Skater 303 (Trial Proof) was created by Andy Warhol in honor of the 1984 Olympic Winter Games. After the print was completed, the image was made into a poster that was seen all over Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, where the Olympic Games were being held. By layering different colors on top of each other, Warhol is able to form a black square from which the skater seems to be skating away. This style of coloring, as well as Warhol’s use of line on the skater ultimately creates a sense of depth and motion. This skater appears to be skating out of the layered colors, in motion indefinitely.
This print was originally published in the portfolio Art and Sports, which contained works by seventeen artists. This was the official art portfolio of the XIV Olympic Winter Games. Although Warhol wasn’t a sports enthusiast, he was fascinated by the fame that athletes acquired. He recalled: “I really got to love the athletes because they are the really big stars.” In addition to Speed Skater 303, Warhol made prints and portfolios of famous athletes such as Muhammad Ali, Wayne Gretzky and Merce Cunningham.
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