Known for his depictions of the American Old West, Rathman turns now to the grit and melodrama to be found within the boxing ring. Mining his images from newspaper articles and vintage sports magazines, the artist evokes compelling narratives that seem to have neither beginning nor end. By paring down each moment to its most essential parts, Rathman’s boxers are imbued with a certain quiet dignity that transcends the theatrical machismo of the sport.

Wide expanses of negative space, coupled with a monochromatic palette of hazy blacks and creamy whites, allow the artist to hone in on what he calls “the visceral directness of the sport, its absoluteness”. At the same time, the resulting ink and watercolor paintings are swamped in ambiguity, avoiding the easy resolution of a clean victory, or a neat sucker punch. Two men tangle together, locked in a violent embrace. A fighter crouches, ready to spring. Another slumps in defeat, and his opponent strides away. Rathman’s characters occupy the potent spaces surrounding a point of climax, lending to an open ended understanding of their stories.