EZEQUIEL SURANYI

Kearsey & Gold is pleased to present ‘Ave It, a solo exhibition by Argentinian artist Ezequiel Suranyi.

Sports generally - and football specifically - rarely find a place in the world of fine art. Sponsored photo shoots, team photographs, and superficial work tend to fill this void. This leaves little room to manoeuvre for the football minded art collector.

Ezequiel Suranyi’s photography is an antidote to this. Graduating from Central Saint Martins in the early 2000s Suranyi threw himself into the London football culture: from the Arsenal Football Club’s training pitch and bootroom; to fans waiting at the train station; to Maradona poolside playing with a football - Suranyi’s photography captures a distinct moment in time. The images he presents give us a glimpse of the man: a fan, a father, boot man’s friend, Argentine, artist.

Alongside his ongoing photographic practice Suranyi established Futbolitis, a gallery dedicated to artists who are engaged with the sport, in 2020.

‘The term ‘Ave It’ is a saying unique to the UK football lexicon that can refer to anything from a follow up to a meaty tackle to the reaction of an enthusiastic kick of the ball high into the sky to just an expression of anticipation ahead of a match.

And so it is fitting that Ezequiel Suranyi has titled his upcoming exhibition in London this summer with the same phrase, given it documents a wide array of people and places unique to the world of British football.

From candid shots of Arsenal fans congregating outside their now demolished Highbury stadium to lingering portraits of middle aged Sunday Leaguers, Suranyi’s pictures capture a bygone era in the game. Long before the overtly curated, commodified and almost performative football culture of today, Suranyi captures the game and it’s masses prior to the proliferation of iPhones and influencers that have taken so much away from the authenticity of the game.

Add to this an almost unbelievable poolside photo series with the late, great, Diego Maradona, taken in a Marseille hotel during France’s hosting of the 1998 World Cup, and the ‘Ave It exhibit is the perfect antidote for the almost dreary, recycled, and formulaic photo scene the football world has become today.’ - Eli Mengem, Copa90