NEW YORK – Olympic Gold Medalist Johnny Mosley and New York businessman Donald Trump are feeling the Olympic spirit. They unveiled the official artwork commemorating the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games in New York City as part of the International Artexpo 2001 at the Jacob Javits Center.
Mosley, a freestyle champion at the 1998 games in Nagano Japan, unveiled artwork by noted palette knife artist Howard Behrens, and contemporary realist Simon Bull. Behrens’ work, entitled “In Motion,” portrays a downhill skier. Without identity or country affiliation, the skier, Behrens says, memorializes the universal athlete, yet no skier in particular. Bull’s epic, entitled “Finale” captures the conclusion of an ice-dancing couples performance.
Thomas Kinkade presented his Olympic creation alongside Trump, who cited Kinkade as one of America’s most inspirational, creative forces. Kinkade, the renowned Painter of Light, ignited the more than 600 party-goers with his impassioned call for private funds to support art education in public schools.
The unveilings came at a gala reception hosted by Trump, at New York’s night spot Club Ohm. The reception was in conjunction with the five-day ArtExpo, an annual trade show supporting the fine-art industry.
