Munich. BMW M as contemporary art – in the wake of the further
development of BMW Individual, the BMW M GmbH will be presenting its
latest collaboration: a multi-tiered project with eminent
international contemporary artist FUTURA 2000; the partnership will
debut at Frieze Los Angeles 2020. In this collaboration, FUTURA 2000,
who is known for his mastery of color, concentric forms, and
kinetic composition, will create three exclusive and unique versions
of the BMW M2 Competition (combined fuel consumption: 10.0 l/100 km;
combine CO2 emissions: 227 g/km) in his unmistakable style, whilst
also designing a limited-edition of the BMW M2 Competition which is
scheduled for public purchase in June 2020. One of the hand-painted
BMW M2 by FUTURA 2000 vehicles will celebrate its world premiere at
the second Frieze Los Angeles—being held at the Paramount Pictures
Studios in Hollywood from 13 to 16 February.
“The BMW M2 Competition is dynamic, extroverted and, to a certain
degree, pleasantly provocative. I consider it a great honour to be
able to add a special touch to this vehicle,” says FUTURA 2000. Markus
Flasch, CEO BMW M GmbH, adds: “We are very proud of having been
able to gain such an internationally well-known artist as FUTURA 2000
for the collaboration on the three unique one-offs of the BMW M2
Competition. I’m already looking forward very much to seeing how he
transforms our M2 into the edition intended for our customers. With
his unique, constructive and rebellious style, Futura is perfectly
suited to a young and wild automobile such as the BMW M2 Competition.”
The artist will work extensively on the three unique versions of the
BMW M2 by FUTURA 2000 both on the exterior and in the interior. The
limited-production models will also bear his unique signature. The
trim strips on the instrument panel and the centre console of each
vehicle boast a special, individually created FUTURA 2000 design. The
bi-coloured, Dakota leather M sports seats in black and ivory white
feature polar blue contrast stitching. In addition, the interior
package includes an M Alcantara leather-clad sports steering wheel
with a grey 12 o’clock marking and special door sill trims bearing the
consecutive limited-edition number and a Futura signature. From the
outside, the BMW M2 Edition designed by FUTURA 2000* is recognisable
by the painted surfaces on the front and rear aprons and the side
sills. Moreover, each car is fitted with 19-inch jet black light alloy wheels.
Frieze Los Angeles joined Frieze New York, Frieze London and Frieze
Masters at the forefront of the international art fair calendar last
year, celebrating Los Angeles’ position as a global arts center and
destination. The annual contemporary art fair features around 70
L.A.-based and international galleries, alongside a site-specific
program of talks, music and commissioned artist projects organized in
collaboration with leading curators. Frieze Los Angeles is led by
Victoria Siddall, Director, Frieze Fairs, and Bettina Korek, Executive
Director, Frieze Los Angeles.
In celebration of their long-term partnership, BMW partners with
Frieze to present Frieze Music, co-curated by writer and curator Kevin
McGarry and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, Serpentine
Galleries London, in association with NeueHouse. The event will
feature Moses Sumney, Caroline Polachek, Zsela as well as DJ Uwuqi and
takes place on Friday, 14 February, at 9 p.m. at NeueHouse Hollywood.
Soho House and BMW i will host an art talk on Wednesday, 12 February,
where contemporary artist FUTURA 2000 and rapper Lupe Fiasco will talk
about “Sights and Sounds”, moderated by writer Arty Nelson. As always,
the joint event focusses on the fertile ground between art, innovation
and design and is followed by a cocktail reception. As part of an
ongoing collaboration, Soho House and BMW i have co‑created an
international program of events and experiences focusing on art,
innovation and design throughout Soho House locations across the world.
FUTURA 2000, born Leonard Hilton McGurr, established himself as a
pioneer when graffiti met the formal gallery ecosystem in the 1980s.
He quickly became known for his radical approach in the street,
introducing abstraction to an entirely letter based discipline, and
found himself as part of a wider art movement that included the likes
of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Dondi White, and Rammellzee. Aside from
his decades long career as a contemporary artist, he has achieved
great success as a commercial artist, being commissioned by the likes
of several well-known brands.
With the one-offs and the BMW M2 Edition designed by FUTURA 2000*,
the BMW M GmbH is setting trends both in the high-performance vehicle
sector and the art scene alike. The BMW M2 Competition is a truly
successful model for the BMW M GmbH. The high-performance athlete
positioned in the premium compact class is powered by a dual-charged,
straight six-cylinder with M TwinPower Turbo Technology and 302 kW
(410 hp), and was again the best-selling BMW M automobile and most
popular model in its segment in 2019. In the readers’ voting for the
“sportiest cars of 2019” held by the magazine “sport auto”, the
BMW M2 Competition asserted itself in the category “Coupes up to
75,000 Euros” and clinched the “sport auto” Award 2019 with 32.1
percent of the votes and clearly ahead of the competition.
* specific parts are individually hand painted, the final look and
layout can be slightly different than shown in the pictures.