Football and art celebrated in new Fantasista exhibition

Now a new exhibition Fantasista looks at art and football and shows how this seemingly unlikely pair have much in common.

Often looking beyond the clichés of ‘the beautiful game’ and how the sport itself is artful, new perspectives are offered in the exhibition. Thomas Goddard, for example, looks at the ‘elite worlds’ of art and football, which have both shown resistance to the financial crisis.

Meanwhile Jacopo Maino has dedicated a series of works to Fisher FC, the bankrupt football club, which has players who aren’t paid properly, and train on estates in Bermondsey, but maintains a loyal following who never miss a game.

Inflated salaries of Premiership footballers and the higher echelons of the art market both beggar belief it seems, and are difficult for many people to relate to, so there’s much for the artists here to explore.

The exhibition is the brainchild of animator and football fanatic Richard Swarbrick, who is also exhibiting.

Other artists include Sir Peter Blake, Copo Maino, Quiet British Accent, and Jannette Ehlers, so expect a broad range of responses in mediums including animation and sculpture.

Fantasista runs from11-14 July at The Cello Factory 33-34 Cornwall Road,
Waterloo, London SE1