Irvine, CA (May 18, 2023) – The World Poker Tour® has formed a partnership with renowned American artist Daniel Arsham to add a contemporary, elevated feel to WPT® Season XXI. The collaboration will bring an artist-designed trophy to WPT Champions, imaginative and inspired stage sets, and a New York City charity event benefiting Arsham’s alma mater, The Cooper Union.
Daniel Arsham’s contemporary art endeavors have spanned the mediums of drawing, film, architecture, sculptures, and more. He is represented by Perrotin and galleries around the world, including New York, Paris, Hong Kong, South Korea, Brazil, and the Netherlands, to name a few.
“In the history of WPT, this may well be the most creative partnership we have ever taken on,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “Daniel is an incredible artist that melds well with the contemporary lifestyle that poker fosters. We are honored to award a true work of art to all 2023 WPT Champions.”
Along with having their name engraved on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup, winners will also receive a unique Arsham sculpture trophy. The bespoke trophy design debuted at the 2022 WPT World Championship, awarded to Eliot Hudon.
“It is exciting to explore and apply my artistic sensibility to the World Poker Tour universe,” said Arsham. “I studied at Cooper Union, and it formed a foundation for my art education. I’ve actively looked for ways to further Cooper’s mission of providing free education for everyone in the arts. I also relish the prospect of giving back to The Cooper Union through this project with WPT.”
Other artistic pieces to be created by Arsham as part of this relationship include a custom-designed chipset and a chip case design, and feature table stage designs for WPT events. Each facet of the partnership provides a revamp to elements of the poker landscape and adds a modern touch to complement the progressive WPT culture.
The collaboration commemorates Arsham’s roots to The Cooper Union, while also exemplifying the artist’s longstanding commitment to connecting his artistic practice with contemporary culture. As such, a charity event will be hosted at contemporary art gallery Perrotin’s New York space later this year, on the occasion of Arsham’s twentieth anniversary exhibition with the gallery.
More details on the charity event will be announced at a later date.
For all information about all World Poker Tour events, visit WPT.com.
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About the World Poker Tour®
World Poker Tour® (WPT®) is the premier name in internationally televised gaming and entertainment with brand presence in land-based tournaments, television, online, and mobile. Leading innovation in the sport of poker since 2002, WPT ignited the global poker boom with the creation of a unique television show based on a series of high-stakes poker tournaments. WPT has broadcast globally in more than 150 countries and territories, and is currently producing its 21st season, which airs on Bally Sports in the United States. Season XXI of WPT is sponsored by ClubWPT.com. ClubWPT.com is a unique online membership site that offers inside access to the WPT, as well as a sweepstakes-based poker club available in 43 states and territories across the United States, Australia, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. WPT also participates in strategic brand license, partnership, and sponsorship opportunities. For more information, go to WPT.com.
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About Daniel Arsham
Daniel Arsham is a New York based artist whose practice spans fine art, architecture, performance, and film. Arsham’s iconic works meld the past, present and future, showcasing the malleability and power of nostalgia, often through references to moments of the late 20th century. Eroded casts of modern artifacts and contemporary human figures, his works are crafted out of geological material such as sand, selenite and volcanic ash. These materials allow for the appearance and aesthetic of erosion or archeological, future relics, as Arsham has dubbed them. Arsham has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Orange County Museum of Art, Musée Guimet, Paris, France; UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Dune, China; MOCO Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; HOW Museum, Shanghai, China; The Cranbrook Art Museum, Detroit, Michigan; and the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; among others. Arsham’s works have been exhibited at the National Gallery of Victoria Triennial, Melbourne, Australia; The Athens Biennale in Athens, Greece; Musée Fenaille, Rodez, Carré d’Art de Nîmes, and Paris La Défense, France; Frieze Sculpture, London, U.K.; The Athens Biennale in Athens, Greece; and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, SCAD Museum, Savannah, Georgia, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, the New Museum and MoMA PS1, New York, USA; among others. Daniel Arsham is represented by Perrotin gallery.