Erik Parker isn’t known for his backhand, but he’s taking a swing at tennis. The German artist has painted nine bespoke portraits of male Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) players, which will be revealed at the Rolex Paris Masters. The event will take place from October 25th to November 2nd, running parallel to Art Basel Paris, which takes place at Paris’s Grand Palais from October 22nd to 26th.
Parker, now 57, is known for his distinctive use of color and hallucinatory compositions—dense with symbols, allusions, and patterns. Over the years, he has presented solo shows at leading galleries, including Kasmin, Mary Boone Gallery, and Nanzuka. The ATP collaboration marks a notable departure for the artist, bringing his psychedelic sensibility to portraits for the first time.
“I’ve never really done portraiture before, so this project pushed me in new ways—finding how to keep my style intact while trying something unfamiliar,” Parker said. “I even went back to some of the text-based work I was making in the 1990s and brought elements of that into the portraits, which gave them a very personal dimension for me.
ATP and Parker teased the series in New York during the U.S. Open on August 22nd, presenting portraits of three players: Gaël Monfils, Andrey Rublev, and Daniil Medvedev. The Paris edition marks the next chapter, with new works portraying Novak Djokovic, Matteo Berrettini, Grigor Dimitrov, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Arthur Fils, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Each portrait channels Parker’s use of color to reflect his emotional interpretation of each player, after spending weeks getting to know them.
“At first, I didn’t know much about tennis, but through the process, I really got to know the players—not just as athletes but as individuals, each with their own voice and personality,” he said. “What struck me is how much athletes and artists actually share: both create their own language, their own style, whether it’s through painting or through play. That overlap is what makes this project so important—bringing the worlds of art and sport together in such a direct, human way.”
