Hong Kong. From March 29 to 31, the Art Basel show in
Hong Kong will open its doors offering again extensive insights into
the modern and contemporary works by emerging and established artists,
presented by 242 of the world’s leading galleries. As an official
partner of the show, BMW will not only provide the VIP shuttle
service, but also present the world’s
first BMW Art Car (BMW 3.0 CSL, 1975), created by legendary artist
Alexander Calder, in the BMW Lounge at the Hong Kong Convention and
Exhibition Centre. Furthermore, the latest BMW Art Journey awardee Zac
Langdon-Pole will be on-site documenting his journey and the next BMW
Art Journey shortlist will be announced.
BMW Art Journey at Art Basel in Hong Kong
2019
In 2015, together with Art Basel, BMW enabled an
initiative to support young emerging artists: the BMW Art Journey.
Latest awardee Zac Langdon-Pole (represented by
Michael Lett, Auckland) will be on the ground in Hong Kong for the
documentation of his BMW Art Journey project “Sutures of the
Sky”. His journey took him across a world that humans and
birds have been navigating through millennia. He followed the flight
paths of birds like the white stork or the arctic tern, traveling
along the earth’s axis where the Northern and Southern Hemispheres’
summers intersect. Migrating birds cover some of the longest distances
traveled by any living being. Their routes have guided the Polynesian
pathfinders across the seas. Inspired by this ancient celestial
tracing, Langdon-Pole’s journey questions the position of humans as
the center of the world. Weaving through Europe and the Pacific
Islands of Samoa and Hawaii, his BMW Art Journey seeks to understand
how culture intersects with the science of celestial mapping – and
from there flows into larger existential inquiries about who we are
and how we are situated in the world.
Zac Langdon-Pole will take part in the Art Basel´s Conversations
series on Saturday, March 30, 2019 “Artists Telling Stories:
Narrative Forms and Strategies”.
For further
information, please visit: www.press.bmwgroup.com/zac-langdon-pole-has-commenced-his-bmw-art-journey
An international jury of experts will gather again at the
upcoming Art Basel show in Hong Kong to select a shortlist of
three artists from the Discoveries sector for the next BMW
Art Journey. Members of the jury are Claire Hsu,
Executive Director Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong; Matthias
Mühling, Director Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich;
Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Presidente
Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin; Phil
Tinari, Director Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA),
Beijing; Samson Young, artist and winner of the
first BMW Art Journey.
The shortlisted three artists who will be invited to submit
their proposals for a journey will be announced at the BMW
Lounge on March 28, 2019, at 5.30 PM. That evening, BMW
will host an exclusive VIP cocktail reception to celebrate the
announcement of the BMW Art Journey shortlist.
BMW Art Car #1 (BMW 3.0 CSL, 1975) by Alexander
Calder
The first ever created BMW Art Car will be on
display at the BMW Lounge at Art Basel in Hong Kong 2019. By painting
the BMW 3.0 CSL in 1975 Alexander Calder laid the
foundation stone for the Art Car Collection. It was also one of his
final works of art before he passed away. As a sculptor who normally
devised his own shapes, Calder managed to free himself from the formal
structure of racing cars and, by painting them, aspired to give them
his own distinctive mark. As in the case of his sculptures and
mobiles, he used intensive colors and gracefully sweeping surfaces
which he distributed generously over the wings, bonnet and roof.
It was originally the French racing driver Hervé Poulain who had
the idea of letting an artist have his or her way with an automobile.
Poulain commissioned American artist and friend Alexander Calder to
paint his BMW racing car in the early 70’s; this was the spark which
led BMW to establish the Art Car Collection.
Since then, prominent artists from throughout the world have
designed BMW automobiles of their times, all making extremely
different artistic statements. The nineteen exhibits created for the
Art Car Collection until now include works by well-known artists such
as Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, A.R. Penck, David
Hockney, Jenny Holzer, Jeff Koons, John Baldessari and Cao Fei. The
Art Cars reflect the cultural and historical development of art,
design, and technology.
BMW is a global partner of Art Basel also supporting the shows
in Basel and Miami Beach as a long-term partner.
Furthermore, BMW and Artsy joined forces to
collaborate on promoting the arts on a global scale. Following
“The Future of Art”, a series of short videos, which were
published in 2017, the next joint collaboration as a result of the
long-term partnership will be presented in the evening of
Wednesday, March 27, 2019 in Hong Kong.
For further questions please contact:
Prof. Dr
Thomas Girst
BMW Group Corporate and Governmental
Affairs
Head of Cultural Engagement
Telephone: +49 89 382 24753
www.press.bmwgroup.com
E-Mail: presse@bmw.de
Dorothee Dines
Art Basel Global
Head of Media
Relations
Telephone: + 41 58 206 27 06
Email: dorothee.dines@artbasel.com
About Art Basel
Founded in 1970 by gallerists
from Basel, Art Basel today stages the world’s premier art shows for
Modern and contemporary art, sited in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong
Kong. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which
is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and
the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with
local institutions for each edition. Art Basel’s engagement has
expanded beyond art fairs through a number of new initiatives such as
Art Basel Cities, working with partner cities on bespoke cultural
programs. For further information, please visit artbasel.com.
About BMW Group Cultural Engagement
For almost
50 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged in over 100
cultural cooperations worldwide. The company places the main focus of
its long-term commitment on contemporary and modern art, classical
music and jazz as well as architecture and design. In 1972, three
large-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard Richter
specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group’s Munich headquarters.
Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Daniel Barenboim,
Jonas Kaufmann and architect Zaha Hadid have co-operated with BMW. In
2016 and 2017, female artist Cao Fei from China and American John
Baldessari created the next two vehicles for the BMW Art Car
Collection. Besides co-initiatives, such as BMW Tate Live, the BMW Art
Journey and the “Opera for All” concerts in Berlin, Munich, Moscow and
London, the company also partners with
leading museums and art fairs as well as orchestras and opera houses
around the world. The BMW Group takes absolute creative freedom in all
its cultural activities – as this initiative is as essential for
producing groundbreaking artistic work as it is for major innovations
in a successful business.
Further information: www.bmwgroup.com/culture
and www.bmwgroup.com/culture/overview
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BMW-Group-Culture
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/bmwgroupculture/
@BMWGroupCulture
#BMWGroupCulture
The BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI,
Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading
premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides
premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production
network comprises 30 production and assembly facilities in 14
countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2018, the BMW Group sold over 2,490,000 passenger vehicles
and more than 165,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in
the financial year 2017 was € 10.655 billion on revenues amounting to
€ 98.678 billion. As of 31 December 2017, the BMW Group had a
workforce of 129,932 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.
www.bmwgroup.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BMWGroup
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/BMWGroup
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/BMWGroupView
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https://www.linkedin.com/company/bmw