Kevin Couliau articulates the beauty of basketball through photographs and films that express the sport's nature, aesthetics, and culture. Inspired by an early love for the game, the Paris-based photographer and filmmaker searches for stories that reveal basketball's impact on individuals and their communities while demonstrating its universality throughout the world.

Couliaus' acute awareness of sociology, urban design, and architecture converge into the composition and content of his works, and in 2012 culminated in the award-winning documentary Doin’ It In The Park, a film exploring New York City's pick-up basketball history, culture, and global influence.

Through his independent publishing house, Asphalt Chronicles, Kevin distills publications celebrating the aesthetics of grassroots basketball culture. In 2022, he revealed Blacktop Memento, fragments of erosion, a collection of 76 playground close-ups studying the game's imprint on these hallowed territories.

When he's not on assignments, Kevin dedicates time throughout the year to Giants Of Africa, a non-profit using basketball to educate and enrich the lives of African youth.

info@kevincouliau.com

instagram | behance | vimeo

Books & Publications

”Blacktop Memento, fragments of erosion”
published by Asphalt Chronicles & Common Practice - 2022

“When Basketball Inspires” - 2021
published by Trajectoire Studio (featured artist)

“The City Game” - 2020
published by Rizzoli Electa & MCNY (contributor)

“Asphalt Chronicles #03, Paris” - 2017
published by Asphalt Chronicles

“Asphalt Chronicles #02, Dakar” - 2016
published by Asphalt Chronicles

“Asphalt Chronicles #01, Manila” - 2014
published by Asphalt Chronicles

Exhibitions

  • 2023
    "Heart of The City"
    commissioned by NYC Parks - The Arsenal Gallery, NYC
  • 2023
    "Remember The Why"
    commissioned by Adidas - Salt Lake City, USA
  • 2022
    ”Blacktop Memento”
    OFR bookstore - Paris, France
  • 2022
    ”House of Moves”
    commissioned by Hennessy - online
  • 2020
    ”The City Game”
    Museum of The City of New York
  • 2019
    ”Rise”
    commissioned by Trajectoire Studio - Paris, France.
  • 2018
    ”Sphere of Influence”
    commissioned by Jordan - Paris, France
  • 2017
    "Making Peace"
    commissioned by Making Peace - Toronto, Canada
  • 2017
    "Sphere of Influence"
    commissioned by the Mayor Office of Paris 9th district
  • 2017
    "Doin' It In The Park"
    Rush Art Gallery - New York City, USA
  • 2017
    "Raised"
    commissioned by Game Seven - W4 st courts, NYC.

Press

Hennessy
"French photographer explores a global game's social impact"

Vice
"These are the Most Beautiful Courts in the World"

Emirates Woman
"We talk to legendary basketball photographer Kevin Couliau"

BSTN
"Feed Fam : Kevin Couliau”

Complex
" Bobbito Garcia & Kevin Couliau talk Doin' It In The Park"

Athleta
"Behind The Lights”

Fubiz
”Sphere of Influence by Kevin Couliau”



Shop

Blacktop Memento, fragments of erosion

76 photos
Preface by Kevin Couliau
Foreword by Jesse Washington
160 pages + a 44 pages insert
explaining the printing process.

Book dimensions & weight :
23.7 x 17.8 x 1.8 cm / 750 gr
Edition of 1.000

ISBN 978-2-9578485-0-8

At the heart of Blacktop Memento is Kevin Couliau’s obsession with playground basketball and its imprint on urban landscapes. Through an archaeological exploration, the French photographer traces with Blacktop Memento an original cartography of asperities, wrinkles, and color spectra: memories sculpted by the encounters between man and matter.

Blacktop Memento is an independently published book retracing 10 years of photographic archives. Couliau’s first book, entirely printed and fashioned in French workshops using traditional binding techniques, showcases an unprecedented selection of stills produced from his personal archives, a series of 76 playground close-ups collected worldwide for over a decade.

—

Published by Asphalt Chronicles & Common Practice
Printed in France on 135gr/m2 Novatech satin paper using traditional CMYK inks mixed with fluorescent pigments Pantone 812c + 803c + 801c.

Printed on a Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92 and assembled by hand at Atelier Bulk (Bordeaux, France ).

ALL ORDERS FOR THE USA & AMERICAS WILL BE PROCESSED BY COMMON PRACTICE.

50 €
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Blacktop Memento, fragments of erosion ”Concrete Pack”

76 photos
Preface by Kevin Couliau
Foreword by Jesse Washington
160 pages + a 44 pages insert
explaining the printing process.

Book dimensions & weight :
23.7 x 17.8 x 1.8 cm / 750 gr
Edition of 1.000

ISBN 978-2-9578485-0-8

This concrete sleeve holds a unique piece of basketball culture, an archaeological tribute to the game and its battlefields. Through 76 photographs, Blacktop Memento celebrates the textures, colors, and erosion provoked by countless runs, bounces, and crossovers. Memories sculpted by the encounters between man and matter captured throughout the world these past 15 years. Entirely manufactured in French workshops, this independently published book and limited-edition sleeve resurrect past playground recollections.

• one limited-edition sleeve built from an ultra-resistant and unique blend of concrete and fiberglass
25.6 x 18.7 x 3.6 cm
• one signed copy of Blacktop Memento, fragments of erosion
156 pages hardcover book printed on 135g/m² Novatech satin paper using CMYK inks
+ fluorescent Pantone 812c + 803c + 801c inks
23.5 x 18 x 1.7 cm
• one 40 pages booklet printed on 60g/m² Elementa white paper using CMYK inks
16.7 x 12.5 cm

400 €
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