The 2022 exhibition The Abstract Athlete brought together 16 former athletes and military veterans whose creative practices developed alongside, or after, physically demanding careers.
Presented at Ohio State University’s Faculty Club, the exhibition included painting, photography, woodworking and digital art.
Creative identity beyond athletic performance
Former Ohio State football player Percy King had discovered art in childhood but set it aside as sport occupied more of his time. After his college football career ended in 2000, he returned to making work.
King presented wooden portraits of Muhammad Ali and The Notorious B.I.G. His subjects carried personal associations, including music connected with his years as a player and memories of his late sister.
The exhibition was curated by Ron Johnson, a former Ohio State baseball player who co-founded The Abstract Athlete with designer and former soccer player Chris Clemmer.
The shared experience of entering a flow state
Johnson connected sport and art through the intense concentration often described as being “in the zone.” Both physical activity and creative work could temporarily quiet daily pressures and support mental health.
The project also included veterans affected by post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury. Its use of the word “athlete” expanded to include the military idea of the tactical athlete.
The wider Abstract Athlete initiative combined exhibitions, a podcast and plans for an artist residency. Its goal was to encourage people whose identities had been defined by competition or service to recognise creativity as another serious form of practice.
The exhibition did not suggest that art replaced sport. It revealed continuities between discipline, repetition, physical engagement and the search for a concentrated state in which difficult experiences could be processed through making.