In Grace under Pressure, photographer Chuck Lysen does what Edgar Degas did with ballet and what George Bellows did with boxing. He brings us into the player’s realm through his unique use of perspective, along with a masterful use of light that heightens and enhances the drama on court. He grabs a single moment of action and stops time.
Lysen’s photographs beautifully capture the complete ballet of power, strength and agility which is the NBA. Grace under Pressure provides a painterly study of the raw sweat and blood and the beauty of finely honed instinct intrinsic to the sport—viewed through abstract, minimalist compositions as times.
Lysen’s photos take you immediately past the sidelines and onto the court for an up close and intimate view into the amazing athleticism and emotional drama of professional basketball. Grace under Pressure is an athlete’s artistic ode to the passion and power possessed by the greatest players of the NBA – from a perspective of beauty and grace befitting their athletic prowess and strength.