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Ersan Kay Kaya hits the artistic nerve of football stars with his paintings. Even from Ronaldo.
Ersan Kay Kaya is known under the stage name «3kay». The Basel artist immortalizes football superstars on canvas with brushes and spray cans. The 41-year-old’s motifs include big names in sport, such as Mario Balotelli, the Murat brothers and Hakan Yakin, and superstars like Ronaldo. With his unique mix of street art, collage and pop art, the artist from Basel hits the nerve of football stars.
The dream of professional football
It is no coincidence that his motives are mostly football players. Because the brush Messi himself had big goals in sport. When he was 14 years old, however, they burst after a car accident. The native Turk remained positive: “Football or not – it’s a dream. If that doesn’t work, you just have to get up and keep walking. And continue with the second talent.” The second talent in his case: art. And this quickly leads to great success.
Football or not – it’s a dream. If that doesn’t work, you just have to get up and keep walking.
The trained computer scientist often comes up with ideas for his pictures in a flash. The results usually convince the depicted footballers so much that they buy the paintings. Some players even gave Kaya jerseys as a thank you. In the meantime, some football fans envy him his collection of jerseys.
Ersan Kay Kaya’s customers
Even the five-time world footballer of the year Christiano Ronaldo gave a shirt as a thank you: “One of the most valuable jerseys is Ronaldo’s, his training shirt from Manchester United. The same evening that he gave it to me, I was offered up to 20,000 francs. But I didn’t sell it, it’s a value for me and not for other people.”
The Dream of America
But the greatest value in the artist’s life is his family. He has three daughters with his wife Dilek Kaya. They live in Leymen, France. There, Ersan Kay Kaya likes to take the time to play soccer in the garden with his dog Zidane. But he lands his biggest hits with his pictures. And he has big goals with it: “I would like to exhibit my pictures in America at some point and meet certain Hollywood stars.”