Unframed reproduction of 1980 Soviet Olympic Poster – Relay Race – Japanese Artists – Kawadu, Matsumoto, Ishinosawa, Kishimoto

A fine art reproduction of one of the most historically charged posters from the 1980 Moscow Olympics — designed by a collective of four Japanese artists: Kawadu Hideo, Matsumoto Shigeo, Ishinosawa Harutomo, and Kishimoto Ken. Printed on museum-quality matte paper, ready to frame to your own specification.

The image is kinetic and immediate: a motion-blurred relay baton exchange captures the raw speed and tension of the track in a style that owes as much to Japanese graphic modernism as to Soviet sports poster tradition. The result is a genuinely hybrid object — Soviet in its production and purpose, Japanese in its visual sensibility — and one of the more unusual artefacts to emerge from the Moscow Games.

The historical irony is impossible to ignore. Japan was among the countries that joined the US-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics — meaning the artists who designed this poster never saw their work displayed at the Games their own nation refused to attend. That tension between artistic collaboration and political rupture makes this one of the more compelling pieces in the Moscow Games series.

Publication Details
Artists: Kawadu Hideo, Matsumoto Shigeo, Ishinosawa Harutomo, Kishimoto Ken (Japan)
Year: 1980
Publisher: Izdatelstvo Plakat (Plakat Publishing House), Moscow
Occasion: XXII Summer Olympic Games, Moscow
Origin: USSR (Soviet Union)
Style: Japanese graphic modernism / Soviet sports poster tradition
Original Size: 44 × 66 cm (17.3 × 26.0 in)
Print Size: 18 × 24 in (45.7 × 61 cm) — the closest available standard print size to the original format. We have done our best to reproduce the composition, colours, and proportions as faithfully as possible.

• Paper thickness: 10.3 mil (0.26 mm)
• Paper weight: 189 g/m²
• Giclée printing quality
• Opacity: 94%
• ISO brightness: 104%
• Paper is sourced from Japan

This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!

Want to own the original vintage poster? View the original here →
Prefer it ready to hang? View the framed reproduction here →
Prefer an instant digital download? View the digital edition here →