Crystal Ball Painting. 2006, 2007 copyright Milena ZeVu

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1 Crystal Ball Painting 2006, 2007 copyright Milena ZeVu

2 Technical details of the Painting Size of Painting 1.4m x 1.4m Number of crystals over 16,300 Technique Acrylic with Swarovski Crystals, original technique, copyrighted Colors White and Black panels covered with white and black crystals, Football Stars signatures covered with colored crystals

3 Crystal Ball Painting Project by Milena ZeVu The purpose of the Project was to use art for a positive cause, raising funds for charity. The goal of this Project was to create an original and unique work of art (a large Painting of a football), involving famous football players who endorse the painting with their signatures. Some protagonists of contemporary English football - Gianfranco Zola, David Beckham, Alan Shearer, Sven Goran Eriksson, Christiano Ronaldo and Terry Venables engraved their signatures in this work of art, thus accepting that they will acquire further level of immortality.

4 The Artist Milena Zevu Born in Serbia, conceptual artist Milena ZeVu has had a decade-long international career. Creating exclusive portraits and sculptures hand made by meticulously inserting Swarovksi crystals into acrylic or oil, each of ZeVu s masterpieces are unique and glittering. A graduate from the Academy of Applied Arts (Belgrade), ZeVu then went on to continue her education in Florence. She has exhibited in various solo and group shows in Greece, Spain, Austria, Hungary and Monaco, each receiving international acclaim. Beckham & Milena, New York, 2008 Her notable celebrity collaborations include David Beckham, Pele and Ronaldo for which she created portraits of the football stars, raising significant sums of money for charitable causes. ZeVu s enigmatic portrait of Marilyn Monroe, featuring a staggering 18,500 crystals, was sold at auction in Dubai with all of the proceeds going to charity. Her famous portrait The Princess Grace Kelly is part of the private collection belonging to the Grimaldi family of Monaco.

5 Stardust by Prof. Luca Beatrice, art critic November 2007 Inspired in a way by the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a famous promenade between Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, made in 1958 for the purpose of celebrating film Stars and cinematographic spectacles, the work of Milena ZeVu is based on the principle that art is an ideal language for conveying accomplishments in the world of sport. Both art and sport would last longer if handed down to posterity via a story, rather through direct visual contact. A fascinating match, remaining in the memory of those who did not even see it, a piece of work that became a legacy of the entire mankind, such as the Parthenon, Mona Lisa or expressionist dripping of Jackson Pollock - is only acquired information - and one needs not visit Athens or queue inside the Louvre Museum or MoMA in order to appreciate their value. Art and football (the most popular sport today, enchanting, complex, capable of attracting the masses and particularly - creating myths) are two adventures discovered in the 20th century as new ways of achieving greater social distinction: not just a discipline practiced for the purpose of pleasure or De Coubertinian spirit of participation, but as a real 'system' - constructed on the economic value and very precise rules. A signature of a football champion or a signature on a painting, transforms the game - or a painting, into a genuine true work of art. A signature is proof of validity and confirms an authentic gesture or inspiration, leaving nothing to chance. The 20th century left behind a concept of luxury applied to creativity as a legacy to the New Millennium: something many people openly pursue and very few manage to reach. Luxury goes hand in hand with fame. Had it not been for its widespread popular acceptance, a work of a genius would have never been sufficiently appreciated. Milena ZeVu is not interested in portraying football through images or by sketching a biography of a Champion. Her project 'The Crystal Ball Painting' involves several football World Stars who were asked to place their signatures, made from Swarovski crystals, forming a very luxurious ball. Therefore, football Champions are 'used' in a relational work of art, a very stylish typology used nowadays, which is completed only after the interaction of several subjects and where an artist plays a role of a director, a coordinator of an event. Some protagonists of contemporary English football - Gianfranco Zola and David Beckham, Alan Shearer and Sven Goran Eriksson, Cristiano Ronaldo and Terry Venables - engraved their signatures in this work of art, thus accepting that they will acquire further level of immortality: after having become well-known for their sports accomplishments (on the field or on the bench), art enables them to become part of culture and museums, which is eternal. Linking football to culture and art could have enormous significance, especially nowadays, in a historical moment in which economic values and provocation to combat often dominate over the beauty of movement and purity of intentions. Especially in the country I come from, Italy, this necessity has transformed into an urgency. Perhaps art is unable to resolve the football s most difficult problems, but can definitely help in seeing sports from a more authentic and realistic perspective. Many thanks to Milena ZeVu and her Champions. Stardust in the heaven of miracles, created to shine forever. Luca Beatrice Art critic and professor at the Brera Academy of Fine Art, Milan, Italy lucabeatrice.com