Speed Skater (FS. II 303) created by Andy Warhol to commemorate the 1984 Olympic Winter Games, captures the energy and motion of athletic performance through Warhol’s distinctive visual language. After the print’s completion, the image was adapted into a poster widely displayed across Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, the host city of the Games.

In this work, Warhol layers vibrant colors to form a central black square, from which the skater appears to burst forth. The interplay of overlapping hues and the expressive, fluid lines tracing the skater’s figure generate a strong sense of depth and perpetual motion. The athlete seems to glide endlessly, emerging dynamically from the field of color with a sense of unstoppable momentum.

Speed Skater (FS. II 303) was originally published as part of Art and Sports, the official art portfolio of the XIV Olympic Winter Games, which featured contributions from seventeen different artists. Although Warhol was not known for his interest in sports, he was captivated by the celebrity status that athletes achieved. Reflecting on this, Warhol once remarked, "I really got to love the athletes because they are the really big stars."

This fascination with fame is a recurring theme in Warhol’s broader body of work. Beyond Speed Skater (FS. II 303), he also created celebrated portraits of renowned athletes such as Muhammad Ali, Wayne Gretzky, and Merce Cunningham, reinforcing the intersection between athletic prowess and cultural stardom in his art.