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Suite: Olympic Centennial Solidarity
Ahmed Shahabuddin1991
The Olympic Museum
Lausanne, Switzerland
The bodies of the three runners express the greatest effort thanks to the strong, violent paint. The imagery of fearless human figures, which are in the motion of running, seems to burst free from their skin with their flesh, blood and sinew. Vibrant colours such as red, black and yellow give force to this rhythmic brushwork.
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Details
- Title: Suite: Olympic Centennial Solidarity
- Creator Lifespan: 1950
- Creator Nationality: Bangladeshi
- Creator Gender: Male
- Creator Birth Place: Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Date Created: 1991
- Location Created: Paris
- Physical Dimensions: w870 x h655 cm (Complete)
- Painter: Ahmed Shahabuddin
- Description: Signed: Shahabuddin 91 lower down. From the 50 original works of the Olympic Centennial Suite, the IOC printed 250 lithographs of each work, all measuring 63/90cm, on Arches vellum paper (270 grams), signed by the artist and numbered
- Collection information: The "Olympic Centennial Suite ", brings together 50 works by international artists who are representative of the variety of contemporary artistic tendencies. It was created on the occasion of the centenary of the foundation of the International Olympic Committee in 1994. For the choice of the works, the IOC brought in two prestigious French art critics, Gérard Xuriguera and Francis Parent. More than two years were necessary to constitute this Suite, with the aim of representing, in just 50 works, the multiplicity of creative work produced over the last five decades, from the figurative to the abstract, from hyperrealism to minimalism, from the new figurative school to abstract expressionism, as well as geometrism, conceptual art, and body art. It was decided that each international artist selected should create a work on a two-dimensional support. Some of these artists, aware of the importance of the message of the Olympic Movement, have rendered this spirit a special homage, while always remaining faithful to their own personal style. This "Suite" can be qualified as the jewel of the art collection of The Olympic Museum.
- Artistic school or movement: Ahmed Shahabuddin studied at the Academy of Fine Art in Dhaka and has been resident in Europe since the mid-70s. Recognised at an early stage in his native country, he had the opportunity to develop his intrinsic personality in Paris. At this time, Shahabuddin challenged contemporary art trends in Bangladesh that veered towards pure abstract painting. He successfully set a new trend: a blend of figurative and abstract expressions blending oriental and occidental contemporary art forms. He has exhibited his works across the globe and was honoured by the Bangladesh government with an award for Shadhinota Puroshker in 2000. Fascinated by Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin and also influenced by Francis Bacon and the European movement, Shahabuddin developed his own style. His paintings reflect contemporary life and times with an optimistic view. As life is a competition until the end for Shahabuddin, the recurring motif of sportsmen are in his paintings. Painfully dragged down by the force of gravity, powerfully propelled and created with decisive gestures, their morphologies are captured in the paroxysm of the moment of performance.
- Type: Paintings
- Rights: International Olympic Committee, 2004, ©IOC/G.Peter
- Medium: oil on canvas
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