Olympic Swimmers 1976

LeRoy Neiman made this of Olympic Swimmers with paint, sometime in the 20th or 21st century. And it’s like, he just went for it! Look at the way the blues and greens clash, like a wet dream of Fauvism. The texture isn’t hidden; it’s all loose brushstrokes and drippy edges, revelling in the materiality of paint. I love the way he renders the limbs of the swimmers, all pinks and oranges, and the way the yellow lane dividers slice across the composition. Neiman is reminding us that looking at the world is about velocity, impact, and the pure, messy joy of seeing. Like Chaim Soutine, who was a master of the expressive brushstroke, Neiman is an artist who understands that painting is not just about representation, but about the visceral experience of being alive. Ultimately, what Neiman is showing us is that art, like life, is an ongoing experiment.