July 9, 2026

Words: Interior Design Staff

Photography: courtesy of The Hoxton and Jon-Paul Wheatley

The Hoxton And Artist Jon-Paul Wheatley Collaborate On Soccer Installation

With the World Cup in full swing, fans can see the object at the center of the sport—the soccer ball—reimagined as a design object at The Hoxton‘s U.S. hubs. The hotel brand is transforming its lobbies in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland into art galleries with an installation by artist Jon-Paul Wheatley, founder of experimental soccer ball design studio 12 Pentagons.

On view this summer, the exhibition reframes the soccer ball as a sculptural object, exploring geometry, craftsmanship, and cultural memory through Wheatley’s lens. A former product designer with no formal artistic training, Wheatley began handcrafting footballs in 2020 as a new challenge. He has since built an international following by documenting the meticulous process behind each piece, which led to collaborations with brands including FIFA, Adidas, and Burberry.

A man wearing glasses and a cap smiles while holding a soccer ball, standing in front of a display of various historical soccer balls in glass cases.
Jon-Paul Wheatley at The Hoxton Chicago. Photography by Josh Chin.

Presented through The Hoxton’s Artist Open Call program, the installation showcases several of Wheatley’s best-known works (though none are for sale). Highlights include Double World Cup Ball, a 55-panel hybrid that merges the two different balls used during the controversial 1930 World Cup final; The Glitch Ball, whose 92-panel construction creates the visual illusion of digital distortion; Modelo Ball, stitched from 60 colorful panels inspired by competing nations’ flags; and Air Force 1 Ball, assembled from eight pairs of deconstructed Nike Air Force 1 sneakers into a 92-panel sphere.

Visitors can also take a stab at their own creation by participating in The Badly Drawn Ball, an interactive project inviting guests to sketch a soccer ball from memory. Collected into a growing global archive, the drawings celebrate the imperfect yet universal familiarity of the widely recognized object with a prize in store for the winner.

Catch the exhibition on view at The Hoxton’s U.S. locales through July 20, 2026.

  • A multicolored soccer ball featuring geometric patterns in gold, red, blue, green, black, white, and yellow on a white background.
    Modelo Ball.
  • A person arranges colored leather pieces on a table with a paintbrush, plastic cup, and a bottle of Modelo beer nearby.
    The making of Modelo Ball.
  • A brown leather ball with black stitching in a zigzag pattern is shown against a plain white background.
    Sausage Ball.
  • A person arranges several irregularly shaped, stitched brown leather pieces on a round white marble table.
    The making of Sausage Ball.
  • A gray spherical object with an interlocking, curved stitched pattern covering its surface, resembling a textured leather material.
    Wavy Triangle Ball.
  • A white, round ball with curved, stitched seams forming a swirling pattern, viewed from above against a plain white background.
    Spiral Ball.
  • Worn, vintage leather soccer ball with visible stitching and scuff marks, photographed on a plain white background.
    Roly Polly Ball.
  • A brown spherical object with an interlocking geometric pattern resembling stitched leather pieces covering its surface.
    Panel Ball.
  • A gray spherical object with a quilted, diamond-patterned texture and visible stitching lines across its surface.
    32 Mesh Ball.

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