Gianni D’Urso’s Instagram Project Turns Artists into Soccer Trading Cards

Italian artist Gianni D’Urso has been running an Instagram account called Celo celo mi manca for about a year, creating soccer-style trading cards featuring historic contemporary artists. The project draws parallels between the art world and professional soccer, comparing gallerists to agents, auctions to transfer markets, and collectors to club owners. D’Urso, who recently moved back to his hometown in Puglia after living in Bologna, aims to make contemporary art more accessible through the popular sport. Each card is carefully designed to reflect the artist’s poetics and career, with some taking minutes and others a full day to produce. The project is part of a larger body of work that includes installations and interviews with established Italian artists, exploring the realities of emerging artists. D’Urso started the account anonymously to test the concept independently of his name. He sees collecting as fundamental to the art system and considers his works collectible. The future of the project may include a physical edition.