HANOVER, Md. — Deflated basketballs have become the petals of an exotic flower, in the hands of Baltimore-based artist Brandon J. Donahue-Shipp.
His new artwork - "Basketball Bloom (AD)," featuring found basketballs and shoestrings - has garnered him a $25,000 award from Live! Casino & Hotel (formerly Maryland Live!) in Anne Arundel County.
The distinctive art piece will now be displayed in the casino/hotel's art collection.
Donahue-Shipp is the winner of a pop-up art exhibit for local black artists, which the Live! complex held for Black History Month.
The hotel features an art museum - The Cordish Collection - with more than 40 pieces, including an Andy Warhol print.
It's run by Suzi Cordish, wife of Baltimore real estate mogul David Cordish, whose company owns both Live! Casino & Hotel and similar complexes nationwide.
She said about Donahue-Shipp:
I was fascinated by his use of found objects...These are recycled basketballs, and it is done beautifully, with attention to the material. He then sews the basketballs together... It's just really an exquisite piece that's very contemporary.
He was one of nine artists who took part in the Cordish Collection's pop-up called “Reflections of Joy: Celebrating African American Art in Maryland."
