Meet NOVA — a limited capsule collection of padel rackets inspired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Open Access collection.
Instead of keeping centuries of art locked behind glass, I wanted to bring these masterpieces directly into play. Padel is dynamic, fast, and high-impact. By pairing ancient craftsmanship with performance carbon fiber, each racket becomes a true material rebirth — not just a print on a frame.
Video Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMWdmlPqhR0
FLORA Canvas: https://app.flora.ai/join-project/b0175763-2c3f-4e95-9763-dfc1f0f18ba1
Post on X: https://x.com/yurii_oleskiv/status/2096981092519551428
Featured artifacts from The Met Archive:
Length of painted silk: 18th-century French textile with floral bouquets on turquoise silk.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/239345
Tunic: 15th–16th century Incan royal garment with iconic red-and-black checkerboard weave.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/751901
Glass hexagonal amphoriskos: 1st-century Roman mold-blown cobalt glass vessel.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/245376
Vase (Grueby Pottery): Early 20th-century Arts and Crafts vessel with matte cucumber-green glaze.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/19839
Guitar: Late 17th-century European baroque instrument inlaid with ivory and tortoiseshell.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/503932
Bottle with Birds and Peony Scroll: 15th-century Joseon porcelain decorated in cobalt blue.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/37557
"Wild Rose" Lily vase: Late 19th-century Favrile blown glass designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/21617
Under the Wave off Kanagawa: Iconic c. 1830–32 color woodblock print by Katsushika Hokusai.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39799
Sweetmeat dish: 17th-century European segmented ceramic serving platter with radial patterns.
The Met Archive - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/200731
Everything was conceived, iterated, and directed inside FLORA. The node-based canvas made it effortless to link raw archival references, dial in textures, and build cinematic promo renders & videos in one workspace.
A limited series built for the court today... that might just end up back behind the museum glass a century from now.
Created for the challenge by @FLORA x @Contra HQ . #FLORAMuseum #Contra
