We commissioned a local artist who would not only capture the spirit of sports, but also the diversity and energy of the community. Cortada, a resident and native of Miami, was selected because his energetic and emotional style fit perfectly with NikeTown's vision. Inspired by great Latin American artists as well as de Kooning and Picasso, Cortada's work creates strong images with his cubist and expressionist style, his bold tropical colors and use of thick black lines. They are filled with passion, challenges and inspirations. I was pleased to have been given the opportunity to communicate this and have it also end up as a gift to my hometown.
Soccer presents itself as a flurry of activity.
Bodies tangle, balls fly, faces twist in joy and pain and the turf rises to the sky. Cortada takes us through the progression of the sport. His intertwining images represent the game played by amateur youths in the green turf of a local barrio , then depicts professional athletes whose very bodies connect with and create the stadium of fans. He then takes us to a place where soccer becomes universal where green pieces of turf representing different teams across the globe swirl around and create the sport. Baseball is about the passion of the sport.