Sylvester Stallone Gets New Art Exhibit in Germany
Sylvester Stallone is a man of many talents. Writer, actor, producer, and even … artist? That’s right, the KO king himself turns out to be a talented painter and, according to The Hollywood Reporter, will be showing several of his paintings in the German city of Hagen at the Osthaus Museum Hagen.
The Rambo and Rocky star’s exhibition, titled Sylvester Stallone: The Magic of Being, will debut this Saturday, December 4, 2021 through February 20, 2022. The multitalented star said, “You know, maybe I should have been a painter. It sure would have meant a lot less stress” after arriving at the museum to unveil the exhibition’s first look.
“It’s an amazing honor to have my work hanging here, next to some of the greatest artists in the world. This gallery world is still a very new world for me,” Stallone added. And while this exhibit will mark the iconic actor’s largest showing of paintings from the late 1960s until present, his spot at the Osthaus Museum Hagen isn’t his first. In 2013, Stallone had an exhibition at St. Petersburg’s State Russian Museum and then again in 2015 at Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain located in Nice, France.
For those that wonder what would move a museum to give an actor their own exhibition, Mathias Rastorfer, an art dealer who calls the Gmurzynska Gallery in St. Moritz home and who was one of the people to organize the Hagen exhibit said, “Is [celebrity art] about the art or about the celebrity? I remember people asking the same question when we first showed Karl Lagerfeld’s art. Now every art museum in the world wants to show Largerfeld’s work,” Rastorfer explains before adding, “It will be the same with Stallone.”
Drawn to the work of artists, such as Jackson Pollack and Willem de Kooning, Stallone picked up a paintbrush at a young age. The master painters can be seen in much of Stallone’s work which he mentions selling “for $5 to get bus fare” after finishing each one with a signature of “Mike Stallone”. Upset by his initial attempt to become a famed artist and join his heroes, Pollack and de Kooning, Stallone went full steam ahead into his passion for writing and acting. His past characters and roles make appearances in some of his artwork as well. Many have nods to Rambo and Rocky as Stallone uses his paint brush to reflect on what the characters mean to him and his giant fan following.
For those panicking that their favorite actor will ditch the screen for the canvas, they have no need to worry. Stallone recently wrapped filming for the newest installment of The Expendables franchise and, a few weeks ago, shared an Instagram post confirming that he would be reprising his role as Stakar Ogord in the upcoming, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Read Next
About The Author