“Colossus” by Tsereteli Participates in the Design Contest on Symbols of 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing
Source: INTERFAX
Moscow. March 10, 2008. INTERFAX-Moscow – The opening ceremony for International Tour Exhibition of 2008 Olympic Landscape Sculpture Designs took place in Tsereteli Art Gallery in Moscow on Monday.
Dated for the International Olympic Seminar in Moscow, the exhibition has been organized in association with the Organizing Committee of 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The exhibition has already been held in 28 cities of twenty five countries including Seoul, Los Angeles, London, Rome, Barcelona, Chicago, etc.
“Forty seven sculptures-finalists, selected from 270 works-participants in the Contest, have been delivered to Moscow. Moscow is the last city where all the above sculptures are to be displayed to the public. In April, 2008 one of the sculptures will be announced a winner of the Contest to become one of the visiting cards of the XXIX-th Olympic Games. It will be installed at the entrance of the main Olympic stadium in Beijing” – said President of the Russian Academy of Arts Zurab Tsereteli to Interfax.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Zurab Tsereteli thanked the organizers for arranging the International Exhibition in his Art Gallery and suggested creating an Olympic park of sculptures in Beijing with a Chinese sculptor’s artwork as a centerpiece to be surrounded by sculptures by masters from other countries of the world. “It would symbolize a friendship between nations of the world and emphasize the role of sports and culture in our life” - noted Zurab Tsereteli.
The charge d’affaires ad interim of China in Russia Lee Khuailai said in his speech that he appreciated the place of the exhibition and expressed his hope in the right decision of the Contest jury.
Zurab Tsereteli has shown at the exhibition two options of his sculpture entitled Colossus the Olympic, which, as it is conceived by the sculptor, depicts the image of the ancient Greek Colossus of Rhodes.
From the sources in the Russian Academy of Arts, the sculpture is likely to be installed in Beijing or in Sochi hosting 2014 Winter Olympic Games. According to Tsereteli’s design, the base for the statue will contain space for museums and elevators inside the 47m tall sculpture will take visitors to its observation site.
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