The BMW Group will present – for the first time in Asia – the BMW Art Car Tour, an art exhibition showcasing four original BMW Art Cars by world renowned pioneering artists Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Roy Lichenstein and Ken Done. The tour will start in Kuala Lumpur and then move on to other countries in the Asia-Pacific region over the next two years.
“For the first time, the BMW Art Cars are going on an Asia-Pacific tour that will begin here in Malaysia and see them going to countries such as Japan, Korea, Singapore, Australia, China, India and several other countries over the next two years,” said BMW Malaysia’s Managing Director, Wolfgang Schlimme.
“Cultural Communications has been an essential activity for the BMW Group for over three decades and we are extremely proud that Malaysia will be the first country in the region to showcase this rich heritage,” he added.
The idea of the BMW Art Car collection was conceived by passionate French race car driver and art auctioneer, Herve Poulain, who sought to link his two passions in life – cars and art. The concept was set in motion in 1976 when Alexander Calder was commissioned to create, the first BMW Art Car for the Le-Mans 24-hour race. The enthusiastic reception of the rolling work of art was the spark of inspiration that led BMW to create the Art Car Collection, which now comprises 15 Art Cars.
The BMW Art Cars reflect the developments in art history with regard to fine art, design and technology and are regularly displayed worldwide in major museums such as the Paris Louvre, the Royal Academy in London, the New York Whitney Museum of Modern Art, Venice's Palazzo Grassi, Sydney's Powerhouse Museum and the Guggenheim Museums of New York and Bilbao. In the future, too, these cars will document the fascinating link between art and technology in international exhibitions.
BMW and art enthusiasts in Malaysia will soon have the opportunity to view four of the 15 BMW Art Car works at the Petronas Art Gallery in Suria KLCC from September 14, 2006 to October 22, 2006.
The four will be the 1976 BMW 3.0 CSL painted by abstract Expressionist and acclaimed artist Frank Stella; the 1977 BMW 320i Group 5 Racing version painted by the father of American pop art – Roy Lichtenstein; the 1979 BMW M1 Group 4 racing version painted by eccentric Pop Art Culture artist Andy Warhol; and the 1989 BMW M3 Group A Racing version painted by leading Australian painter and a top graphic designer Ken Done.
After Malaysia, the "rolling sculptures" will travel to Singapore, the Philippines and then Korea. The tour will then head to Sydney, Australia, and then Auckland, New Zealand. It will then move northwards to India's capital Delhi which will be the last stop for the four cars. After the Asia-Pacific tour, the BMW Art Car Collection will be exhibited between 2007 and 2010 in museums in Turkey and the USA before they return to Europe.
