“Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is.” — Johan Cruyff
Marshall Gallery presents “A Simple Game,” a group exhibition around the theme of football (soccer), opening on June 6 and running through July 18, 2026, in Santa Monica. Timed to coincide with this summer’s World Cup tournament, the exhibition brings together a diverse selection of photographic works, along with drawing and sculpture, exploring the global influence and spiritual aspects of the world’s game. The exhibition includes works by Steve McCurry, Marc Riboud, Dan Borris, Masao Yamamoto, Israel Ariño, Thomas Hoepker, and Evelyn Hofer, among many others.
Rather than focusing on spectacle, stardom, or moments of athletic triumph, the works included spotlight the ways football permeates everyday life with distinct rituals and aesthetics. Capturing the sport as a social mirror of collective experience, revealing moments that are often poignant, mysterious, or abstract: Corn fields in Mexico where goals stand like minimalist sculptures. Enraptured crowds evidence social realities beyond the pitch. A goalkeeper floats mid-air in the London fog. Buddhist monks play in the temple courtyard.
Spanning decades and geographies, the “A Simple Game” considers football not simply as a sport, but as a persistent and universal presence woven into the rhythms of daily life around the world. For more information and a full checklist of works, please contact the gallery.
A Simple Game
– Celebrating Football During the World Cup
June 6 – July 18, 2026
Marshall Gallery
au Bergamot Station Arts Center
2525, avenue Michigan, #A6
Santa Monica, Californie 90404
310-413-3987
www.marshallgallery.art
