{"id":1987038,"date":"2026-06-12T17:48:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T14:48:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1987038"},"modified":"2026-06-12T17:48:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T14:48:29","slug":"soccer-balls-designed-by-23-artists-celebrate-fifa-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1987038","title":{"rendered":"Soccer Balls Designed by 23 Artists Celebrate FIFA World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/small-1_Futura-with-sculpture-at-Journal-Square-Courtesy-ARTS-14C.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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\n\tMany in the artworld might be surprised to learn that one of the last projects the legendary art collector and philanthropist Agnes Gund worked on before her death last fall involved the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted this year in North America. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe project, Art of the Game<\/em>, involved commissioning 23 contemporary artists\u2014mostly nominated by high-profile museum curators\u2014to design large-scale soccer ball sculptures that will be installed all summer long around New York and New Jersey.<\/p>\n

Art of the Game<\/em> is organized by the ARTS 14C, a nonprofit based in Jersey City, New Jersey. The group supports visual artists, writers, performers, and other cultural organizations with access to space and professional opportunities. Diana Burroughs, ARTS 14C\u2019s executive director, and Gund were friends for over four decades and shared a love of sports. \u201cI knew I would not have to convince [Gund] of the idea\u2019s merits,\u201d Burroughs said in a statement about the project. \u201cAggie quickly began making introductions and put together a committee of the city\u2019s top museums; I could not have done so myself. I am only sorry that she is not alive to appreciate what her goodwill has done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe first artist Gund reached out to was Katherine Bernhardt; her soccer ball is installed in Rockefeller Plaza in front of Christie\u2019s headquarters in midtown Manhattan. Many others followed, among them Futura 2000 (nominated by Brooklyn Museum director Ann Pasternak), Edgar Heap of Birds (nominated by recently retired MoMA director Glenn Lowry), and Ta\u00edna H. Cruz (nominated by Whitney Museum director Scott Rothkopf).<\/p>\n

\n\tThe sculptures were fabricated at Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn, and will be on view in various parks, plazas, and other public spaces through Labor Day; a few will be on permanent view. Of the 23, five\u2014by Fred Wilson, Tomokazu Matsuyama, Hank Willis Thomas, Katherine Bernhardt, and Bony Rameriz\u2014will be part of an online sale at Christie\u2019s from July 2 to 17, with proceeds shared between the artists, ARTS 14C, and Studio in a School, a nonprofit founded by Gund in 1977.<\/p>\n

\n\tCheck out some of the Art of the Game<\/em> soccer balls below, all of which are on view as of today.<\/p>\n