(Banff) The connection between art and sport dates back to ancient Greece, when ceramic vessels depicted the idealised male form engaged in athletic competition. Today, eroticism and fetishism remain prominent in representations of sport. Western popular media portray "super star" athletes in ways that service the fashion industry. Class, gender, and racial difference in professional athletes are further magnified through the lens of popular representation. The Walter Phillips Gallery’s presentation of Boxed [pugilism in contemporary art], March 24 through May 6, 2001, explores these associations between sport, art, and popular culture, and reinterprets our age-old assumptions about athletes in surprising new ways.

‘Boxed’ brings together a diversity of artworks in a wide range of media including CD-ROM, photography, painting, lithography, drawing, and sculpture. The exhibition will feature artworks by Canadian and international artists and will include work by Shari Hatt (Montreal), Heavyweight Art Installation (Montreal), Christine Kirouac (Winnipeg), Sandra Meigs (Victoria), Priscilla Monge (Costa Rica), Keith Piper (United Kingdom), Patrick Traer (Saskatoon), and John Will (Calgary).

Boxed is held in conjunction with the spring thematic residency The Sporting Life, held at The Banff Centre April 23 though June 8, 2001. A closing reception will be held in the Walter Phillips Gallery May 4^th at 7:00 p.m. All are welcome.

The Walter Phillips Gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free.