My Pet Ram, in collaboration with Ewing Athletics and Gitler & ___, is pleased to present All City Stars, a solo exhibition and sneaker release by New York City-based artist, Tom Sanford.

There is a common perception that artists are “bad at sports,” but to Sanford, an artist who’s spent a lot of time both playing and watching sports, the two pursuits have much in common. “I can identify with the hours of practice, in the gym or the studio, where progress is earned through blood, sweat, and tears in pursuit of technical mastery and/or stylistic innovation,” said Sanford. “Inspired by glory and immortality (and possibly money), both painters and ballers labor to refine their 'stroke,’ get 'in the zone,’ find that 'flow state.’ Eventually, both artists and athletes find that often when they finally reach the arena, there are more defeats and humiliations than glorious victories. But sometimes, if only for a season or two, some of us get to taste it. Both artists and athletes do things that amaze, we make moves that are physically incomprehensible, inspire awe in our peers, transcend our limitations, and we finally win.”

For this show, Sanford painted the athletes he grew up watching as a New York City fan. To him, professional sports are more than mere entertainment. The competition, the teams, the heroes and villains, the wins and losses--this theater is a universal language through which New Yorkers understand the drama unfolding around us every day.

One of the athletes painted by Sanford is Mike Tyson. “Tyson’s rise from a Brooklyn ghetto to champion was unparalleled,” said Sanford, “but he took on Shakespearian poignancy in his latter chapters, as the boxer struggled with his many demons and a culture that delighted in his disgrace.” Some of the other athletes featured include Patrick Ewing, who to Sanford was duty-bound like Aeneas; Darryl Strawberry, whom he compares to Richard III, and John McEnroe, Apollo. “Ultimately, it is not only the triumphs – which were extraordinary – but also the defeats that make these great players so emblematic of our shared human struggle. That struggle is the heartbeat of the city and unites us in our love of these athletes and as New Yorkers,” said Sanford.

As part of this show, Tom Sanford, a longtime Knicks fan, is proud to introduce a limited-edition custom sneaker in collaboration with Ewing Athletics. To Sanford, this effort is a career highlight, and it inspired the artist to paint his hero, Patrick Ewing, and several other of his all-time favorite athletes who have inspired and confounded our great New York City.

All City Stars will be on view Friday, November 18 through Saturday, December 3, 2022. A reception will be held on Friday, November 18 from 6-9pm. The gallery is located at 48 Hester Street in the Lower East Side. Gallery hours are Wednesday-Sunday from 12-7pm.

Tom Sanford (b. 1975, Bronxville, NY) is a Harlem-based artist who over a 20 year career has exhibited extensively in museums and galleries around the world. His paintings, which might be considered a sort of lowbrow-pop-expressionism, reflect a deep ambivalence about the American cultural condition. His subjects are numerous and vary widely, ranging from history paintings depicting celebrity assassinations, to icon paintings of gangsta rappers, to portraits of celebrities and athletes, to contemporary genre paintings of his beloved home, New York City. Tom received a BA from Columbia University and an MFA from Hunter College.