THE work of one of the 20th century’s most renowned artists, which has been displayed all over the world, can now be seen at a local boxing club.

Art has come out of the gallery and into South Moreton Boxing Club with the opening of an exhibition entitled ‘Picasso Baby!’

The club has teamed up with Dantzig gallery in Woodstock in its first Pop-Up Art Exhibition, and begins by showing a selection of lithographs and posters made by Picasso in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

John Houston, of South Moreton Boxing Club, said the collaboration had come about as a way of introducing the art and sport worlds to each other.

He said: “I have known Stuart MacBeth at Dantzig for a long time and we have often talked about the crossovers between art and sport.

“It may not seem obvious but I think people who are in to their sport share a lot of the attributes of artists in their creativity and drive for perfection.

“Picasso was also quite a macho artist, he was a fan of the sport and often drew boxers so it seemed like a good fit.”

The exhibition coincides with a huge blockbuster Picasso show at Tate Modern in London.

Mr Houston said the exhibition had tempted many people to come in to the club who would never usually step foot in a boxing club and that several of the boxers who train there have also expressed admiration for the work.

He added: “We are hoping this will be the first of many collaborations with Dantzig Gallery.

"We have had a great deal of interest and many people dropping by to see the exhibition.

“I hope the setting introduces art lovers to sport and sport lovers to art.”

Stuart MacBeth of Dantzig said “We originally used the gym as a location shoot for a band I’m involved with, and we loved the atmosphere and setting, and wanted to collaborate on other things.

“This must be the only Art Exhibition in history that opens its doors at 6:30am!”

The exhibition is open 6.30am-9pm Monday-Friday and 8am-6pm Saturday and 10am-4pm Sunday until May 8.