New Film Shows Roger Federer Secretly Worked With Artist Ugo Rondinone for Venice Biennale

It hasn’t taken long for Roger Federer to explore what life after tennis will look like. A new short film by Credit Suisse and NBCUniversal shows how the 20-time Grand Slam winner secretly worked with fellow Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone for his burn shine fly exhibition, which went on view at last year’s Venice Biennale.

Entitled Portrait of a Champion, Federer was shown perhaps like few have ever seen him, stripped down to his underwear, as he modelled various poses while suspended in the air. The tennis phenom noted the difficulty of the task, even comparing it to the rigors he once faced on the court. Emblematic of his playing career, however, Federer was up for the challenge, noting: “This is something exciting in itself as it takes you out of your normal world and it sort of throws you into another world…But in art, I’m a little bit new and I’ve still got so much to learn.”

Rondinone, globally recognized for his monumental sculptures and installations, featured an array of acrobatic dancers as they were camouflaged as the sky in the 13th Century Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista. Federer’s athleticism was of particular interest to the artist when envisioning his exhibition. “When I see him moving on the court, I see a man who can fly by catching the ball so I thought it was a good fit to [make him into] a flying person,” said Rondinone in a statement.

Watch the full film in the gallery above.

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