Tennis in a workmanlike manner

The red earththe famous marble statues, the pine trees that tower around the central field: the atmosphere at Foro Italico Of Rome it's unique. The BNL International of Italy they have just begun (it ends on May 19th), for us with the bad news of the red player's absence due to injury Jannik Sinner. Yet here, on the slopes of the Monte Marioin the most prestigious tennis tournament in Italy, there is not only the skill on the court to be admired 96 players And 96 players who will fight for the title.

There is also a lot of art in the temple of tennis. Starting from the spaces of the Stadium and the garden (which can only be visited if you have a ticket, however), where the FITP the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation has commissioned a real exhibition of contemporary art: it's called Ephemeral (it will in fact be uninstalled at the end of the ATP tournament) and is maintained in collaboration with the Maxxi of Rome, from Giorgio Galotti And Claudia Pignatale: opens en plein air with various red arrows that seem to pierce the ground (they are part of an installation by the artist Felice Levini) and we proceed in the spaces of the stadium with interventions by artists and designers such as Patricia Urquiola, Massimo Vitali, Ron Arad.

The art of tennis not only at the Foro Italico

If you are among those (and I am manywe discovered it in recent days) who love tennis and also contemporary art, the right address in the capital is then Palazzo Donarelli Ricci (in via Giulia 98) because this is where the former Belgian tennis player and now an experienced gallery owner Tim Van Laere opened its new exhibition space dedicated to contemporary art. On display are the artist's paintings Rinus Van de Velde41 years old, from Leuven, who likes to deal with drawing and painting to play between fiction and reality, inventing new stories for those who observe. In his recently inaugurated solo exhibition I am done singing about the pastinvents adventures on paper, accompanied by a written narrative, almost a long caption, where he mixes the charcoal technique, painting and poetry. Could tennis courts have been missing? Obviously not.

RINUS VAN DE VELDE Every day before dawn, …, 2024

The former tennis player and gallery owner

But are tennis and art really that linked? We asked Tim Van Laere, someone who, since he was a child, alternated training on the pitch with visits to museums: «A passion that my parents passed on to me. When I left Belgium to train in the United States as a child, I never missed the opportunity to go to exhibitions whenever I could.” He explains to us that it is the same determination and mental strength that drives you to stay on the pitch that motivated him, once his competitive career was over, to dedicate himself to his other great passion, art, transforming it into a job and a profession. He started with a small ad gallery Antwerp, in 1997, based on his instincts. It went well and now its exhibition space exceeds one thousand square meters.

The “Roman adventure” is more recent: the Visa Giulia gallery is intimate and became a few days ago meeting place for many friends, passing tennis players, art enthusiasts and collectors. In the circuit, there are many more than you imagine: from John McEnroe to Steve Darcis, there are many former tennis players who have become collectors. And even those who still play, how Matteo Berrettini, is passionate about the genre. Van Laere met in the spaces of him too Venus Williams: «He has an incredible eye for art – he told us –. And I myself have the feeling that it exists a strong bond between the artists and the tennis players. Just as artists in their studio may have twenty assistants but in the end they are ultimately responsible for what will be created from an empty canvas, so tennis players have the coach and staff in the boxes behind them, but on the court they are alone play the game.”

Red earth also in Milan with Velasco

We leave Rome, and move on to Milan. Here too the red clay of the tennis court has inspired an artist: it is Velasco Vitali, for everyone Velascowhich from 8 May to 13 June presents in the spaces of Antonia Jannone Architectural Drawings his works in the series Red earthmedium and large paintings dedicated to tennis courts, the red square where professionals and hobbyists love to leave marks on the ground with racket and balls. The inspiration? An old red clay tennis court right under the window of the house, in Bellano, on Lake Como: this is where Velasco played as a boy with friends and it is here that he returned in his mind (and also with his playing shoes , a few years ago, to test the waters) to create this unprecedented series of works. The red earth, the memories and above all a reflection on the brick colour, on the dust that covers everything, on the lines and geometries that regulate the court (in tennis and in life) produce works that are only apparently realistic. Champion absolute and uncontested is the paintingcapable of activating infinite imaginations in us.