Art Cars: BMWartcar by Jeff Koons

Jeff Koons Presented US Debut of his BMW Art Car at Art Basel in Miami Beach.

 

The BMW Art Car Collection was initiated by Jochen Neerpasch, then Director of BMW Motorsport, as well as French racing driver and auctioneer Hervé Poulain, when the latter invited his friend Alexander Calder to design his BMW Le Mans 24-hour race car in 1975. Since then, some of the greatest names in contemporary art have been added to the collection, such as Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, David Hockney, Jenny Holzer and Olafur Eliasson.

Artist Jeff Koons is the latest creative mind to present his art version of a BMW vehicle. Koons’ BMW Art Car, a M3 GT2 race car was unveiled on the night of the opening day of Art Basel in Miami Beach. Among the guests were important representatives of the art world such as Chris Dercon, Director of Tate Modern, the curator of the 8th Berlin Biennale, Juan A. Gaitán, as well as the auctioneer Simon de Pury.

“I always enjoyed the Art CarsWarhol’s Car, Roy Lichtenstein’s car, Stella’s, Calder’s – all the cars have always been fantastic. I just wanted to participate. The art world is like a family and I wanted to also be involved in this dialogue of designing an Art Car. Today, I’m proud that this car is there alongside their work, too,” said Koons.

Another legendary “rolling sculpture”, created by Andy Warhol, was on display in Art Basel’s Collectors Lounge. The pop art icon painted a BMW M1 that raced in the 24-hour race at Le Mans in 1979.

Art Basel stages the world’s premier art shows for Modern and contemporary works, sited in Basel, Miami Beach, and Hong Kong.