Beyond the Stadium

June 8 -August 3, 2026

In this new body of work, Colombian artist Franco Ponce presents a series inspired by the 2026 FIFA World Cup, transforming one of the world’s most celebrated cultural events into a layered visual experience where art, memory, and imagination converge.

Through carefully constructed fictional settings, Ponce reinterprets globally recognized imagery, placing iconic cultural references in unexpected encounters that challenge traditional boundaries between historical representation and contemporary visual culture. Museums, imagined spaces, and symbolic narratives become stages where familiar figures are recontextualized, inviting new ways of seeing.

Rather than focusing solely on football as competition, these works explore its broader cultural dimension: a shared language capable of connecting countries, identities, and generations. In Ponce’s compositions, the spirit of the game expands beyond the stadium and enters the realm of collective memory, visual storytelling, and cultural exchange.

Inspired by the 2026 World Cup hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, Beyond the Stadium reflects on the global power of sport to inspire emotion, imagination, and human connection—revealing football not only as spectacle, but as a universal cultural experience.

See more artwork by Franco Ponce HERE