GUE’s Upbeat Basketball Court Brightens up the Italian City of Alessandria
Are you familiar with the typical basketball court, dominated by one typical color and lined with white? Then, get ready to see something completely different. As part of the Urban Development of Carlo Carrà Park, in the city of Alessandria north of Italy, Italian artist GUE makes a colorful masterpiece out of the basketball court. A mix of bright colors and curved lines compose the attractive mural on the ground, seen best from an aerial view. The varied shapes formed by the lines and colors reflect the movement rhythm and action on the court, resulting in a playful game of perception: “The idea was born from the possibility of being able to cross the field’s space,” says GUE, “and to stay inside the composition and change the perception of shapes through the game’s movement.”
While the white basketball court lines, necessary for the game, kept their shape everything else didn’t. Intersecting curved shapes formed by different shades of blue, yellow, orange, gray, and white filled the entire court. The artist further explained: “It was important to consider the schemes of the designated areas, necessary for the game, but at the same time it was necessary to feel free to interact with shapes and colors.” The artist’s choice of colors was based on the color palette found in a basketball court, as he clarified: “I chose the color samples used in basketball courts, combining them and adding personal variants.” This piece of art is a tribute, by the Sicilian artist, to Carlo Carrà, a prominent futurist artist, who was born in Alessandria, and after whom the park is named.
