Exalted Athletes: Sports heroes are the focus of an exhibition at The Arts Council featuring works by Jason Robichau

Michael Jordan, Mickey Mantle, J.J. Watts, and Muhammed Ali — these are just a few of the iconic sports figures whose portraits are currently on display at The Arts Council of the Brazos Valley. The exhibit, “The Art of Sport,” features 28 works by College Station artist Jason Robichau and runs through Thursday, Dec. 23.

Robichau’s works encapsulate each sports figures’ emotions, often in split-second moments — a pensive headshot of Babe Ruth, a raging Muhammed Ali in the ring, a focused Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow preparing to pass the football, a determined volleyball player Kerri Walsh collapsed in the sand before the ball hits the ground, a jubilant Houston Astros baseball team following a big win.

The sports figures seem to come off the page through Robichau’s mixed-media techniques that incorporate drawing, painting, collage, and printed canvas. The subjects are generated from photographic images, sometimes chosen from thousands, which Robichau carefully analyzes to find just the right one before committing it to canvas. Striking is his use of primarily gold metallic paint throughout many of his works. “It's really hard to work with, but the beauty of it is that it changes with the light,” he says. “To me it gives it an old-time feel but also a modern flavor to it. That's why I love it.” He paints with acrylic, mixed with glazes at times, to build layers for texture and color, he says. “I let the layer dry, and then I do a layer over top [to create] the blending I want.” His combined techniques achieve a sort of 3D result.

One of his most involved paintings celebrates the Chicago Cubs’ first World Series win after a 108-year drought. It incorporates a photograph of the 1908 team standing shoulder to shoulder in a line above the 2016 players. “It looks like they’re waiting,” Robichau says. “And so I titled it, ‘The Wait is Over.’” Another of his more complex works is “Super Bowl 50,” which was commissioned by the NFL to celebrate a half-century of the franchise’s annual championship game. Robichau says he had only 77 days to complete the work, including choosing photos for each of the 50 Super Bowls and the faces of 43 Super Bowl MVPs. “If I was just doing some random person, there's no judgment as to how accurate it looks,” he says. “But when you're doing somebody that's incredibly famous, like Aaron Rodgers or Joe Namath, and everybody knows what they look like, you’ve got to get it right on.”

Robichau first drew baseball trading cards as a kid. He didn’t study art formally, he says, and most of what he learned was during high school, during which time he practiced a lot and won multiple art competitions. He graduated with a degree in business from Lamar University in Beaumont and initially built his reputation as an artist through charitable donations, including his work, “Aggies Never Quit.” It features Texas A&M University wide receiver Kendricks Rogers Jr. catching the ball during the famed 2018 game against Louisiana State University that went into seven overtimes. The original painting was auctioned off at a Countdown to Kickoff charity dinner for the 12th Man Foundation. “It set the record for the highest-selling item ever,” Robichau says. “For me, there’s no point in doing something, if you’re not going to help other people as well,” the Christian artist says. “One of my proudest accomplishments is how much my work has raised for other people.”

Robichau’s favorite sports icon to paint is Muhammed Ali. Ten of Robichau’s paintings of the famous boxer have been auctioned off at the annual Celebrity Fight Night event, one of the nation’s largest-grossing charitable events presented in honor of Ali. “He's so powerful,” Robichau says, “but there's also a beauty to him. He always said he was so pretty, you know? So humble in that regard,” Robichau continues, “There are so many great photos of him and so many more that I want to paint.”

Ali is featured three times in “The Art of Sport” gallery show, including “Get up!” — a work that combines three canvases to make one image of Ali standing over his knocked-down opponent, Sonny Liston. The piece is signed by Ali, “The Greatest,” himself. “Front Row Seat” is another autographed piece on display, and the third, called “The Champ,” portrays a determined young Ali facing forward with red boxing gloves at the ready, that highlights four of his championship matches, including the legendary 1974 match against George Foreman. “This is the fight where he did the rope-a-dope,” says Robichau. “Everybody expected Foreman to win because he was younger and bigger, and Ali just basically let Foreman punch him for eight rounds.” By that time, Foreman was exhausted, Robichau recounts. “And then at that point, Ali knocked him out.”

Another signed work available for purchase is a print of “Red,” a cigar-smoking profile of former basketball coach Red Auerbach, which was commissioned by the Boston Celtics. “He was such a great coach, just a character,” Robichau says. He remembers meeting Auerbach in Boston in a private room full of executives. “He asked me ‘Well, how long did it take you to do this?’ And I told him ‘About 50 hours.’ I said, ‘I had to look at your ugly mug for 50 hours.’” Robichau’s comment caused a momentary shock among Auerbach’s entourage. “Then [Red] started laughing and he gave me a slap on the arm,” Robichau remembers with relief. “I was like, oh, that could have gone bad! It was a gamble to say that!”

“Red” is one of four works on display that Robichau painted using a different style, which he refers to as illusionism, inspired by the late artist Chuck Close. The stacked rows of three-quarter-inch squares are created through paint layers, four to eight colors per square. “I do one square at a time, like reading a book,” Robichau says. “I just go across one at a time.” The result is similar to that of pointillism or in more modern terms, pixels on a computer screen. The up-close view of baseball pitcher Sandy Koufax’s eye, for example, is a far different experience than looking at the painting while standing back. “If you squint your eyes closed, you get the same effect,” Robichau says.

The only landscape in the exhibition is also painted in the same illusionistic style: “Unlucky 7” — Pebble Beach Golf Link’s challenging 7th Hole in California. “It’s a par-3, which means you have three holes to make it in, and it’s uphill,” Robichau explains. “It's one of the most iconic holes of golf,” he says.

Occasionally Robichau accepts commissions of works that aren’t related to sports, but sports is definitely his passion, he says. He enjoys doing detailed work and creating definite lines using small brushes and says there are still subjects he’d like to depict. “I love old baseball players, so maybe like a Willie Mays or Hank Aaron, and I've never painted Ted Williams,” he says. “Basketball is my favorite sport, but baseball is my favorite game to paint.” He says he particularly loves portraying the majesty of old-time baseball players that were held in high esteem. “The image in the moment is so amazing,” he says. “Trying to capture that is the challenge, but also the pleasure.” IN

For more information, visit The Arts Council of Brazos Valley website at acbv.org or jasonrobichau.com.