As soccer fans from around the globe descend on the New York metropolitan area for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is offering a unique cultural companion to the world’s biggest sporting event.
Through July 19, the museum will present Collection in Focus | Zidane, a 21st century portrait, a groundbreaking film by acclaimed artists Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno that transforms one of soccer’s greatest players into the subject of an immersive work of contemporary art.
The presentation marks the 20th anniversary of the film’s creation and the first time the Guggenheim has publicly exhibited the work since acquiring it in 2006.
Timed to coincide with the World Cup matches taking place across the New York region, the exhibition bridges the worlds of sports, cinema, and visual art, inviting visitors to experience soccer through an entirely different lens.
Rather than focusing on goals, highlights, or match results, Zidane, a 21st century portrait follows legendary French footballer Zinédine Zidane during a single match played on April 23, 2005, at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Using 17 synchronized cameras positioned throughout the arena, Gordon and Parreno tracked Zidane’s every movement over the course of the 90-minute game. The cameras remain fixed on him even when the action shifts elsewhere on the field, creating an intimate and often mesmerizing portrait of concentration, athleticism, and human emotion.
The result is less a sports documentary and more a meditation on performance, celebrity, and presence. Viewers witness moments of anticipation, frustration, focus, and isolation that are often invisible during traditional broadcasts.
For soccer enthusiasts, the film offers an unprecedented look at one of the sport’s most iconic figures. For art lovers, it demonstrates how a sporting event can become a canvas for creative exploration.
The Guggenheim’s screening will take place in the museum’s Peter B. Lewis Theater, where the two-channel video installation will run continuously throughout the exhibition period.
The timing couldn’t be more fitting. As millions of fans celebrate the World Cup across North America, the museum is highlighting soccer’s broader cultural impact and its ability to inspire artists as much as athletes.
Zidane, who led France to World Cup glory in 1998 and became one of the most influential players in football history, remains a global symbol of excellence and artistry on the pitch.
This summer, visitors to New York will have the opportunity to see that artistry preserved not through trophies or statistics, but through one of contemporary art’s most celebrated cinematic portraits.