At Paris’ historic art epicenter, Les Bains, The Skateroom launches a collection of skateboard art decks composed of three collections by five prominent, contemporary artists.
Art enthusiasts and skate aficionados are in for a treat this fall as The Skateroom simultaneously unveils three new collections. For their biggest launch to date, the collaborative B Corp is showcasing five contemporary artists at the historic art epicenter, Paris’ Les Bains, starting Oct. 17.
Multifaceted artist and fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac presents three skateboard art decks for the launch. Castelbajac drew inspiration from skateboarders’ valor, their close-knit community, and their eternal youth to compose his art decks. He fashioned the boards in his signature color palette–a chromatic range of blue, yellow, and red, with The Skateroom curating his limited collection.
Benjamin Sabatier, an artist notorious for prizing raw and accessible materials, produced skateboard art decks devised entirely from concrete. His exclusive collection, curated by Jérôme Pauchant and Les Bains, highlights the connection between tangible materials, tertiary activity, and the act of skateboarding itself. The creative use of concrete in crafting the skateboards articulates the themes he often revisits in his work, including the shortcomings of modernity.
The third collection is a collaboration between CB Hoyo, Evgen Čopi Gorišek, and Pascal Möhlmann, curated by Plan X Gallery. Exploring their individual perspectives on the notion of “Falling,” each artist fabricated one-third of five different triptychs. The art boards reflect a mix of their unique styles, as the three joined forces on each piece. CB Hoyo’s satirical juxtapositions of prominent iconography, Gorišek’s uneasy perspective on the digital age, and Möhlmann’s bold reinterpretations of classical paintings all manifest in the decks. The three artists also produced a remarkable feat–the most enormous skateboard art deck in The Skateroom’s history. All six hands conspired to create a large-scale, XXL skate deck.
In The Skateroom’s giving tradition, ten percent of sales from the collections will support The Continuity of Learning Programme. The Programme, launched by The Skateroom social partner Concrete Jungle Foundation, seeks to tackle youth unemployment and the shortage of skilled workers in the construction sector through immersive, hands-on activities.
The Skateroom continues its social entrepreneurship model with this noteworthy launch. Since its founding in 2014, it has raised over $1,500,000 in social sponsorship. At its core, The Skateroom centers around art, skating, and the pursuit of social change.
All images courtesy of The Skateroom.
