Best Muhammad Ali Tribute

"George Foreman," Kevin Guthrie

As in all things, timing can make all the difference when it comes to an artwork’s impact. When Kevin Guthrie’s Bicycle Thieves hung at Julia Martin Gallery in April, the work was intriguing: a collection of 61 crude, colorful drawings of all the boxers who fought Muhammad Ali, rendered in crayon and pencil on the backs of beer boxes. Guthrie’s smart conceptualizing of a portrait of the GOAT through portraits of all his opponents allowed this pugilistic display to punch way above its weight, and Ali’s death in June only made the exhibit more powerful and poignant in retrospect. Rumble, young man. Rumble. JOE NOLAN

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