Paintings honoring the late Alex Rovello, a UO student athlete, are among the offerings in “Art of the Athlete II,” continuing at the UO Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art through Feb. 9.
Building on last year’s collaboration with the John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes and the UO Department of Arts and Administration, this year’s show features work created by UO student athletes from football, soccer, men’s and women’s golf, track and field, cheerleading, men’s and women’s basketball.
Students spent the spring term in workshops with museum educators twice a week, experimenting with mixed media, graphic design and self-portraits.
Many athletes used the studio session to create paintings depicting Rovello, a fellow student athlete and tennis player who drowned in May. Golfer Noah Sheikh, whose acrylic on canvas painting “Game, Set, Rovello” accompanies this story, said in his artist statement:
“The piece I painted is very meaningful to me, as well as many others in the University of Oregon community. I painted a picture of my friend, Alex Rovello, who sadly passed away recently. This painting is one of his favorite pictures, which features him after scoring a point in one of his tennis matches. When painting this picture, I decided to paint Alex in fine detail, leaving the background out of focus. Around Alex is a yellow glow, representing the overall joy he brought with him wherever he went. In the background I used many colors and left it blurry to represent not only the crowd, but all the people in his life that loved to watch him and cheer him on. From this, I want people to understand how much he meant to so many people. Seldom does one individual touch so many people in a positive way. Within the picture, he is clenching his fist and has the face of determination. That is something I will always remember about Alex.”
Artists participating in “Art of the Athlete II” also include Karrington Armstrong, Football; Dominic Artis, Basketball; Dylan Ausherman, Football; Isaac Ava, Football; Pharaoh Brown, Football; Benjamin Butterfield, Football; Maxwell Carter, Golf; Benjamin Carter, Basketball; Rak Cho, Golf; Erick Dargan, Football; Chad Delaney, Football; Amanda Delgado, Basketball; Isaac Dixon, Football; Damyean Dotson, Basketball; Eric Dungy, Football; Raphaela Dyer, Golf; Ifomeno Ekpre-Olomu, Football; Jacob Fisher, Football; Kelsey Foo, Soccer; Ayele Forde, Football; Zachary Foushee, Golf; Christian French, Football; Colin Greig, Football; Cheyenne Hickle, Golf; Troy Hill, Football; Cali Hipp, Golf; Joshua Huff, Football; Janitah Iamaleava, Basketball; Benjamin Itterman, Golf; Lake Kaai, Football; David Kafovalu, Football; Keloni Kamalani, Football; Samuel Kamp, Football; Wade Keliikipi, Football; Beijan Kelley, Football; Jordan Loera, Basketball; Alejandro Maldonado, Football; Dior Mathis, Football; Jamal Prater, Football; Ryann Ree, Golf; Taylor Richmond, Cheerleading; Avery Sills, Golf; Gregory Skipper, Track and Field; Eric Solis, Football; Blake Stanton, Football; Hamani Stevens, Football; De’Anthony Thomas, Football; Tony Washington, Football; and Bronson Yim, Football.
Steve Stolp, executive director of Services for Student-Athletes of Academic Support, said last year’s experience was “by far the most significant project that immersed our student-athletes into the university community.”
“Most of the students divide their time between classes, tutor sessions, practices, and meals,” Stolp said. “This exhibition and program introduced them to the incredible resources at the art museum.”
- from the UO Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art