Arsenal heroes surprise fans at impressive Topps exhibition in London
Arsenal heroes surprise fans at impressive Topps exhibition in London To coincide with the launch of the Topps Chrome UEFA Club Competitions 2025-26 collection, Topps hosted an immersive exhibition in London earlier this month. The Chrome Gallery aims to highlight the evolution of trading cards from simple hobby items into significant artifacts of modern sport and pop culture. The event featured art installations, rare collectibles, and appearances by football figures, including World and European champion Robert Pires and Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Trading Cards as Modern Art The curated exhibition sought to demonstrate the emotional and cultural narratives behind modern collecting. Utilising high-quality materials and limited-edition designs, some featuring embedded jersey fragments, the gallery presented trading cards as a distinct form of artistic expression. Highlights included: Budapest at Night: A telescope installation allowing visitors to view portraits of Champions League stars integrated into the skyline of the upcoming final's host city.
Mirror Room: A mirrored booth filled with Chrome cards designed to simulate the intensity of the collecting experience. Anime Ceiling Mural: A large-scale work based on specific card design subsets. Rare Displays: The exhibition showcased 1/1 (one-of-a-kind) cards and Chasing the Rainbow sets, which feature a single player motif across various colour parallels.
Düsseldorf-based artist and collector Ivan Beslic provided the German contribution to the international gallery. Beslic presented three marker-on-paper works inspired by 1990s hip-hop aesthetics. His pieces focused on the Rookie Class and featured: German starlet Lennart Karl Chelsea standout Estêvão Willian The official "Rookie Card" logo "Every card is a work of art in itself, whether painted, digitally composed, or created from photographs," Beslic stated, noting that such exhibitions provide a necessary platform for the creative minds behind the card designs.
From Collector to Professional The exhibition also explored the full-circle journey of professional athletes. The Rookie’s Bedroom installation recreated the childhood environment where many fans begin their collections. German creator and collector Aaron Troschke, who attended the event, noted the significance of this trajectory: "Many players collected cards themselves as children, pulling their idols and dreaming of being on a card one day.