Photography: Fred Mortagne, 2024.
The countdown to the Paris 2024 Olympics is underway, and to mark the sporting spectacle, the Centre Pompidou has commissioned a PoMo-style skatepark on its famous forecourt.
Artist Raphael Zarka collaborated with Jean-Benoît Vétillard on the Cycloid Piazza, a skateable sculpture combining geometric shapes and bright colours. The street skatepark features a bright blue half-pipe and a mix of quarter pipes, half-bowl stairs, and manual pads for tricks.
The skatepark is not just a sports facility but a cultural hub that brings together skate culture, art, music, and sports and is open to amateur and professional skateboarders alike.
According to the museum, the curves of the skate plaza are inspired by the current architecture of skateparks as well as geometric abstraction and scientific research on movement which has inspired Zarka’s practice for years.
‘Zarka invites us to re-experiment with these curves, studied in classical mechanics, through the practice and spectacle of skateboarding’, says the museum.
Cycloid Piazza is open at the Centre Pompidou until 15 Sept 2024.
