Casa Axis Turns the Tennis Court Into a Playable Artwork
Launching a unique tennis tournament that hands the court over to artists.
Summary
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Artists compete on a hand-painted court at Felipe Pantone’s Casa Axis residency in Valencia, June 13–14
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The tournament winner gets commissioned to redesign the court for 2027
Casa Axis, the artist residency and creative hub founded by Felipe Pantone outside Valencia, is launching the Casa Axis International Open (C.A.I.O.), a new annual event that brings together tennis, contemporary art, and design. The first edition runs June 13–14, presented by MRKA and ProShop NYC, with support from Lacoste.
Setting the tone, artist MRKA has painted the hard court at Casa Axis with loose, hand-drawn white lines over a deep red surface. From above, the court lines look more like something drawn freehand than anything you’d find at a regulation tennis facility. Moreover, the format drops the usual tournament structure with no rankings, no seeding and no conventional categories. Artists are invited to play while engaging in creative expression at the same time, treating the game as a medium rather than a competition. The focus is on how players interpret and approach the game rather than who wins.
The exhibition draws from the Muñoz Collection with works by David Hockney, David Shrigley, Michael Craig-Martin, Roe Ethridge, Harold Edgerton, Liliana Porter, Gusmão & Paiva, Fernando Marques Penteado, Lucas Benarroch, Mauro C. Martinez, Owen Westberg, Raphae Egil, and Ben Arpea. The group spans painting, photography and conceptual art across several generations, all looking at tennis as subject matter.
The Lacoste component goes deeper than branding. Developed with Lacoste Heritage, it pulls from the brand’s archives, including material connected to Robert George, the friend of René Lacoste who sketched the original crocodile logo in 1927. It connects sport, image-making and design history in a way that fits the broader conversation that Casa Axis is building.
Participation is invite-only, selected by Casa Axis. The winner of the inaugural edition gets commissioned to redesign the hard court for the 2027 edition, keeping the project artist-led going forward.
Casa Axis
Calle Dr. Moliner, 21
46183 L’Eliana
Valencia, Spain
