The Waterford Gallery of Art is hosting the exhibition “Muscles & Mind: Irish Art Olympians” (26th July 2024 – 26th November 2024) which coincided with the official opening of the XXXIII Paris Olympic Games 2024 and was launched by Olympic Silver Medal winner, John Treacy (marathon runner).
The exhibition is taking place with support from the Waterford Arts Office, Creative Ireland, and the Olympic Federation of Ireland. One of the main focuses of the exhibition is to highlight how integral art was to the early Olympics.
The exhibition features ‘Human Frieze with Lilies’ by John Keating. The International Olympic Committee agreed to be the patron of an exhibition at the Barbican in London, to coincide with that year’s Olympic Games in the city. Under the title the Olympic Fine Arts 2012, the London Organising Committee of the Games and the Chinese Olympic Committee invited 500 artists from around the world to exhibit works. Keating’s entry, ‘Oriental Lilies’, oil on canvas, was awarded the Gold Medal for painting. ‘Oriental Lilies’ is in a private collection but ‘Human Frieze with Lilies’ is featured in the exhibition.
The exhibition also features works by Jack B. Yeats, Letitia Hamilton, Seán Keating, Mainie Jellett, Fr. Jack P. Hanlon, Desmond Broe, Flora Vere O’Brien, Ina Boyle, Stella Steyn, Hilda Roberts, Sir John Lavery, Sir William Orpen and more.
