Can a Skateboard Be a Work of Art?

Skateboarders and art collectors alike are treating skate decks like paintings, creating a curious new trend in home decor

KEVIN ACHICO OWNS two kinds of skateboards: those he actually rides and those he hangs on his wall. He currently gets around on a board by Anti Hero, while eleven rarer decks by skate brands Supreme and F—ing Awesome adorn his Dallas home, sans wheels. To the uninitiated, these curved planks of wood might seem interchangeable, but according to the 27-year-old IT worker, the boards he puts on the wall—including ones with imagery by Italian designer and architect Alessandro Mendini or American photographer Andres Serrano—are “basically art pieces.” Though he paid a mere $49 to $88 for them, he speaks of them the way a...