NEW YORK, June 14, 2017 (USTA Press Release)
The United States Tennis Association announced Wednesday that renowned artist Peter Max has created the 2017 US Open theme art, which celebrates the 20th anniversary of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Max also was commissioned to create the US Open theme art in 1997, which featured Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first time.
US Open Theme Art
This year’s theme art showcases Max’s signature style and the dynamic artwork features two crossed tennis racquets against a fiery sky. According to Max, the intent was to suggest two crossed swords, depicting the fierce competition of this final Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year. The artist’s expressionistic painting of the stadium brilliantly captures the passion and vibrancy that surround the event.
“We could not think of a better way to kick off the 20th anniversary of Arthur Ashe Stadium, than by ‘returning to source’ and having Peter Max create another signature work that truly captures the power of tennis’ grandest stadium,” said USTA Chairman of the Board and President Katrina Adams.
Twenty years ago, the US Open was transformed by the introduction of Arthur Ashe Stadium. The new centerpiece of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Arthur Ashe Stadium provides the game’s greats–and its greatest fans–with a stage unmatched in the sport. Boasting a capacity of more than 23,000, Arthur Ashe Stadium is the largest tennis-only stadium in the world, allowing the Open to welcome more than half a million more fans than when its namesake won the men’s singles championship in 1968. Best of all, the stadium has grown with the times. In 2016, it added a retractable roof, banishing rain delays to the historical record and ensuring that the event’s loyal legion of supporters would continue to experience the grandeur of US Open tennis—regardless of the weather—while providing the ultimate showcase for the world’s finest players to complete the toughest two weeks in tennis.
US Open Theme Art
For six decades, Peter Max’s art has been part of the fabric of American pop culture—from his numerous museum and gallery exhibitions to a painted fuselage of a Continental Airlines 777 super jet, a giant Moscow Music Peace Festival stage, a six-hundred-foot-long Woodstock ’97 Music Festival stage, a two-hundred-fifty-foot-long billboard flanking the U.S. Pavilion at the World’s Fair in Seville, Spain, the hull of a giant Norwegian Lines cruise ship, and Dale Earnhardt’s NASCAR race car. Max has been official artist for five Grammy Awards, five Super Bowls, the NHL All-Star Game, the 2000 World Series, Kentucky Derby 2000, the U.S. Winter Olympics, World Cup USA, the Indy 500, and many other notable events in sports and music. Max’s portraits have honored U.S. Presidents, foreign dignitaries, rock stars and jazz musicians, movie stars and sports icons.
