Public art project by Sharmistha Ray, painted as a geometric design on the playing surfaces of Arts Landing's pickleball courts.
Sharmistha Ray's Geometry of Play is on the courts at Arts Landing, 803 Penn Ave, in the Cultural District. It's a public art installation painted directly onto the playing surfaces of the pickleball courts, which are billed as the first artist-designed pickleball courts in the country. Ray also designed a series of matching paddles to go with them.
The work draws on the geometric systems of historic game boards, particularly the Indian game Pachisi, which was later adapted in the US as Parcheesi. Its full-rainbow palette is meant as a symbol of inclusion, visibility and belonging. Because it's painted on the courts themselves, you can actually play on it.
Ray is an artist, writer and educator whose practice spans painting, drawing, installation and public art. Born in Kolkata and raised in Kuwait before moving to the United States, they draw on South Asian visual traditions to explore identity, belonging and cultural exchange through geometric abstraction. They're also a founding member of Hilma's Ghost, a feminist artist collective that focuses on spiritualism and abstraction.
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Geometry of Play was commissioned by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and sits within Arts Landing, a $31 million civic space in the Cultural District designed by Field Operations. The public art program there dates back to July 2026. Viewing the work is free.
