A forthcoming exhibition at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida, packs a major punch. Opening October 26, Strike Fast, Dance Lightly: Artists on Boxing is the largest and most comprehensive showcase of artwork depicting the sport of boxing in more than 20 years. The exhibition will feature paintings, sculptures, works on paper and videos by prominent artists in the cultural zeitgeist, like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Edward Hopper, Ed Ruscha, Alison Saar and many others.
Jerry McMillan, Judy Chicago Boxing Ring, 1970, gelatin silver print, 14 x 11". © Jerry McMillan. Courtesy Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, California.
“The intersection of art and boxing presents a new avenue of exploration for our community,” says the Norton Museum’s Arden Sherman, who curated the exhibition. “Pairing artmaking with boxing locates the Norton as a site for constructive discussions around our human instinct to fight and prevail, and there is no better metaphor to engage in during the current moment of American history.”
Visitors to the show will be able to explore a range of socio-political issues through the lens of boxing, with artworks divided into a series of distinct categories: the body, in the ring, the artist as boxer, tools and ephemera.
Chase Hall, Champion, 2023, acrylic and coffee on canvas, 72 x 601/8 x 1¾". © Chase Hall. Photo: Jeff McLane. Courtesy the artist and David Kordansky Gallery.
In total, Strike Fast, Dance Lightly highlights more than 100 works by more than 80 artists spanning the 1870s to present day. “The Norton’s one-of-a-kind presentation will illuminate the connections between boxing and society, while underscoring the rich history of a centuries-old sport and its participants, through all its complexities. The exhibition showcases artworks that lend boxing, and its legends, nuance and intimacy,” the museum notes.
Jared McGriff, The Practice of Self Protection at All Times, 2023, oil on canvas, 70 x 54". Courtesy the artist and Spinello Projects.
Among the contemporary artists whose work will be on view is multi-faceted Native American artist Jeffrey Gibson, Minnesota-based mixed media artist Chase Hall, Florida-based oil painter Jared McGriff and more. The show will also feature drawings by the iconic Muhammad Ali, as well as photographer Zoë Buckman’s popular boxing gloves series, in which the artist adds traditionally feminine symbols like flowers, tulle and bows to boxing gloves shot against a stark white backdrop.
Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe, Untitled III, 2024, oil on canvas, 30 x 24". Courtesy the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, California.
Strike Fast, Dance Lightly: Artists on Boxing is a collaboration with New York arts organizations the FLAG Art Foundation and the Church. The show hangs through March 9, 2025, and includes an accompanying publication featuring essays by American artist Eric Fischl and the Church’s chief curator Sara Cochran, a photo essay by Sherman and more. —
Strike Fast, Dance Lightly: Artists on Boxing
October 26, 2024-March 9, 2025
Norton Museum of Art
1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
(561) 832-5196, www.norton.org
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