National Art Museum of Sport exhibits award winners

INDIANAPOLIS – A sculpture awarded top prize in a Beijing Olympics competition, a compelling photo of a young boxer facing a championship bout and a memento-filled binder carved from one piece of wood are among the 50 award-winning works of sport art currently on exhibit at the National Art Museum of Sport on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

The art was selected in a global competition for sports artists conducted by the Museum and selected by a jury from entries submitted from 26 states and 6 countries representing 57 sports. The Commitment to Excellence in Art and Sport: A Fine Art  Exhibit will run until April 20, 2011.

The boxing photo, a gold-medal winner, is by Indianapolis photographer Chris Bucher. The sculpture, a 30-inch bronze of an athlete holding an Olympic ring, is by Edward Eyth of Pacific Grove, Calif., and the skateboard of glass by Scott Darlington of Bowling Green, Ohio.

A audience’s view of a “Club Fight” by Garin Baker, New Windson, N.Y., was judged winner of the $2,500 Germain G. Glidden “Best of Show” prize given by Christine D. Glidden, Redding, Conn., chairman of the competition, in honor of her late father, NAMOS founder.

In addition to Bucher, other gold medals were awarded to Gary Erbe, Nutley, N.J., for a trompe l’oeil  oil, “Subway Series” and Stephanie Rocknak, Oneota, N.Y., for a wood sculpture, “The Swimmer.”

Silver medals were awarded to Julie Dilling, Plano, Tex., for a mosaic of a bull fighter;  “Before the Fight;” Elizabeth Wessel, Glen Cove, N.Y., for a sculpture of gymnastics, “In the Balance,” and Scott Fincher, Chicago, for a photograph, “ Sandlot Ball Ruffian.”

Bronze medals were awarded to Dmitri  Wright, Greenwich, Conn., for a mixed media of Jesse Owens, “Gold Tried by Fire;” Jeremy Butler, Ossining, N.Y., for a bronze, “Steffi Graf,” and Sarah Hyde, Boulder, Colo., for a photograph taken in Peru, “ el futbolito.”

The Commitment to Excellence in Art and Sport art competition and exhibit support the Museum’s two-pronged mission to encourage sports artists in their efforts to create sport art and to collect, preserve and share the best examples of sports art it can acquire. The National Art Museum of Sport has one of the nation’s largest collections of art depicting sport. Over forty sports are represented in the over 900 paintings, photographs, sculptures and mixed media works in the collection.

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