Somewhere in Manchester, England, there is a painting of Victor Wembanyama that stands seven feet and five inches tall. Not a mural or a print. A classically posed painting, full scale, the same height as the man himself.
It’s one artwork from the Hardwood Army, a growing collection of life-size basketball portraits by artist King Overman. Nearly 50 works deep, it is quietly becoming a significant cultural project built around the game.
Spike Lee owns five; the film director and lifelong basketball devotee has life-size pieces including Kobe, Allen Iverson and Michael Jordan. NBA Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins saw his own portrait in the series and acquired it directly from the artist. Select works have also been exhibited at Brooklyn Museum in New York, including large canvases of Patrick Ewing and Magic Johnson.
Grand portraits like this have historically been painted of royalty and heads of state, for people with real power and status. King Overman’s position is that these athletes carry a similar relevance. To the generations of fans that grew up watching them, they are the faces and role models of their eras, whose influence extends far beyond sport.
Visually, the paintings mix two worlds. The poses are powerful, direct and formal, but the colors and shapes are pure graf, hip-hop and hoops. The project’s name even references China’s Terracotta Army- thousands of life-size warriors standing proud. Classical bones. Street soul.
What makes the project even more interesting is the person behind it. King Overman (born Kevin Gorman), a British artist with American heritage, had a twenty year career in electronic music as an international DJ and producer (see Wikipedia), before cancer ended it. He initially took up art in 2021 just as a means of recovery. The Hardwood Army project wasn’t planned to endure- it just happened, one piece at a time.
“Art and painting saved my life. I was reeling from the after effects of cancer, lost without a purpose. I feel blessed and lucky to have landed on an idea and project like this.” King Overman
The artist’s aims are as large-scale as the work. He wants to take the collection on the road- a global tour, where audiences can stand next to and surrounded by these giants. And along the way, to find permanent homes for the art in arenas, boardrooms and private collections. How that will happen is a story still being written. But what’s already been created is enough to demand attention.
[Video / TikTok link – Michael Jordan lifesize hand ]