The race continues: from ski slopes to art galleries

The same instances emerged in the works of Basquiat, who in 1981 in Downtown New York created the graffiti Famous Negro Athletes: heads of black athletes depicted with a graphic and essential sign. A paper version of the same work, donated by the artist to the well-known writer Glenn O'Brien, sold at auction in 2019 for $2.7 million. Hank Willis Thomas, on the other hand, born in 1976, has used a glossy aesthetic in his photographs and sculptures to denounce the exploitation of the black body for marketing purposes, as was the case with Nike's planetary success thanks to Michael Jordan's silhouette (the artist's auction record exceeded $220,000 in 2022).

Very different is the approach of Jeff Koons, for whom the basketball is a fetish, the representation of impossible perfection in One Ball Total Equilibrium Tank (1985). Suspended in the exact centre of an aquarium, it was the first major work purchased by mega-collector Dakis Joannou for a mere $2,700. Today, it would take much more: some twenty years ago, in 2013, a version of the work sold at auction at Christie's for $15.3 million.

“Second Serve” (2023), di Honor Titus, rappresentato da Gagosian. (© Honor Titus, Photo: Jeff McLane, Courtesy Gagosian)

Sporting events dedicated to mass audiences are the focus of the work of the American artist Paul Pfeiffer, who investigates the theme of spectacularisation and the cult of celebrity in contemporary society. The Pinacoteca Agnelli in Turin chose him as one of the latest artists invited to create a work for the open-air installation project on the Pista 500. On a billboard, he installed a monumental photograph of the Allianz Stadium in Turin, reworked into a sort of million-seat cathedral. Not far away, a sound installation completes the work, reproducing the dialogue between the ultras and their leader, highlighting the strength that the fan draws from being part of a mass and the loyalty - an almost religious devotion - towards the team. His manipulated photographs of Nba players from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse series have already passed through the auction numerous times, with prices going up to almost EUR 60,000.

But even tennis has recently returned to excite large crowds, thanks to the challenges that have seen many Italian athletes win on international courts. Contemporary art is one of the subjects of the American Honor Titus, 36 years old, son of the well-known rapper Andres 'Dres' Vargas Titus of the Black Sheep, who after starting his career in music, following in his father's footsteps, devoted himself to painting. His talent was immediately recognised by the well-known American artist Henry Taylor, who offered him an exhibition in his studio, and from there to the powerful Gagosian gallery, the step was short. His paintings are elegant depictions of matches, but emphasise the cultural significance of placing people of colour in such leisure and luxury settings. "What interests me is the class implications," he said. "As a player, I know what an absolutely infuriating feat it is. A well-worn struggle for victory can be analogous to life itself." At auction, one of his paintings of a tennis player went for more than EUR 75,000 in 2023, setting the second highest price achieved for one of his works.

“Endless Column III” (2017), di Hank Willis Thomas, rappresentato da Pace Gallery. (© Hank Willis Thomas)

Instead, it is the artist Velasco Vitali who attributes an archetypal dimension to the court. His production dedicated to tennis began in 2017, with canvases entitled Square or Court, monochrome compositions on variations of red, which Gianni Clerici recounts in the book Tennis in art (Mondadori). "If, in our imagination, grass is paradise, where British elegance is staged, red clay is an arena of atonement, where the game is toil and sweat," says the artist. In the following years, the cycle of paintings was enriched with a new title, Red Earth, with a clear reference to Red Square, one of Kazimir Malevič's most famous paintings (his largest work - 2 metres by 1.5 - can be found at the Antonia Jannone gallery for EUR 30,000).

More critical is the reading of Elmgreen & Dragset, known on the international scene with numerous exhibitions, including the Venice Biennial 2009 and a solo show at the Fondazione Prada in Milan in 2022. In their work Short Story, a life-size tennis court, the players are very young, but already disenchanted. One, although victorious, is unhappy, and the other, defeated, is lying exhausted on the ground. The triumph is in vain and what remains are the social divisions. The Scandinavian duo has repeatedly returned to the theme, for example with In Vain, from 2022, a set of polished stainless steel weights, or in Balancing Act from 2024, in which a vulture is perched on a gym bench: an allusion to how the wellness and fitness industry has taken on an increasingly invasive role in contemporary culture (at Massimo De Carlo, their works range between €25,000 and €350,000). Sport in art, therefore, goes beyond the hobby and proves instead to be a mirror of the power dynamics and obsessions of our age, giving depth and depth to the works.

PROTAGONISTS Jean-Michel Basquiat, basquiat.com; gagosian.com.Elmgreen & Dragset, elmgreen-dragset.com; massimodecarlo.com. David Hammons, hauserwirth.com; whitecube.com. Jeff Koons, jeffkoons.com; gagosian.com. Julian Pace, juliangraypace.com. Paul Pfeiffer, @pmp2021; perrotin.com. Hank Willis Thomas, hankwillisthomas.com; pacegallery.com. Honor Titus, honortitus.com; gagosian.com. Velasco Vitali, velascovitali.com; antoniajannone.it. SEE PINACOTECA AGNELLI, pinacotecaagnelli.it. SPORT IN ART, sportin.art. TRIENNALE, triennale.org.