Frölunda Hockey Player 366 was created in 1986 by the commission of the Art Now Gallery in Göteborg, Sweden, which was the home to the Frölunda Indians hockey team. The print depicts Christer Kellgren, a hockey player from the Swedish club Frölunda HC. After this print was produced, another group of prints of Frolunda Hockey Players were produced. It contained two images of the same player in several variations. This particular print uses a vibrant green against a stark black background to highlight the player’s uniform. Though Kellgren’s features are obscured by simple linework and abstract coloring, his uniform is almost the real subject of the print.
Frölunda Hockey Player 366 as Part of Andy Warhol’s Larger Body of Work
Even though Warhol wasn’t a fan of sports himself, he did find an interest in the realm of celebrity athletes. While he wasn’t necessarily a fan of the action involved in sports, the status of a professional athlete in American culture was something that Warhol admired. In addition to this piece, Warhol also did portraits of other athletes, notably Wayne Gretzky and Muhammad Ali. He also did a series of celebrity athletes in 1978 including Dorothy Hamil, Jack Nicklaus and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
