Munich. Today, the BMW Group presented the first
visuals for the next BMW Art Cars during an art talk with Karim Habib,
Vice President Design BMW Automobiles, on the occasion of Art Basel.
Chinese artist Cao Fei (*1978) and American legend John Baldessari
(*1931) gave insight into the design process and revealed their design
ideas about their concepts for the 18th and 19th BMW Art Car. Base
model for both artists is a BMW M6 GT3. With their commitment, Cao Fei
and John Baldessari will be joining the ranks of outstanding artists
such as Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol,
Robert Rauschenberg, David Hockney and Jeff Koons.
Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG:
“We are delighted to be working together with two very innovative and
influential artists, Cao Fei and John Baldessari, in creating two new
BMW Art Cars. Jeff Koons did a fantastic job on our last Art Car and
we are looking forward to further, compelling pieces. Fei’s
all-encompassing curiosity as well as John’s intuitive minimalism will
make for great additions to our collection that are second to none.”
Two artists, two approaches to design
18th BMW Art Car by Cao Fei
“The theme of this century is that we enter ‘a landscape of no man’s
land’, e.g. autonomous cars and aircrafts and virtual reality. I
expect to transcend the current context of ‘cars’ and to embrace new
possible ways of expressions. To me, that not only includes the
artist, but also the public.” Cao Fei
Cao Fei is considered by numerous international media as the most
important Chinese contemporary artist. Having no previous personal
relation to automobiles, she has started an extensive research on the
topic of „driving“ and “the car” as an intercultural object and
sculpture for her BMW Art Car project. Her strong research approach is
typical for her artistic practice in general. On the one hand, she
investigates the depiction of automobiles and visions of future
mobility in pop culture and the art world. Thereby, she draws
inspiration from movies like David Cronenberg‘s “Crash”, the artistic
work of Matthew Barney or the previous BMW Art Car artist Jenny
Holzer. On the other hand, Cao Fei seeks to link her project to
technological and social developments of the 21st century, especially
related to her homeland China. While visiting BMW plants in Shenyang,
Tiexi and Munich, she was particularly fascinated by the application
and autonomy of robots within the vehicle production process.
19th BMW Art Car by John Baldessari
„For me, the car is certainly an icon of contemporary life. I have
done sculpture before, but it’s the first time I have ever in a sense
collaborated. I didn’t design the car – I collaborated with the
designers of the car. I think the challenge comes in making something
that cannot be understood from just one point of view, but only from a
total point of view. I figured my use of colored dots is kind of an
iconic series, so I had to include that. I’m actually advertising
myself.” John Baldessari
As an icon of American conceptual art, John Baldessari approached the
BMW Art Car project in his signature style. One of his ambitions has
always been to bring art outside of the museum and, thus, reach and
confront a broader public with his work in an unexpected environment.
He considers himself a minimalist at heart and likes to draw on his
own iconic techniques, such as placing colored dots. In his work,
Baldessari tends to use primary colors like red, yellow or blue. All
this is reflected in his first design study for the BMW Art Car –
which demonstrates his fascination for the multidimensionality and
typography of the car as an object.
Art world and racing premieres
#18 by Cao Fei:
World premiere: at a major museum, summer 2017
On racetrack: a major race in Asia, 2017
#19 by John Baldessari:
World premiere: Art Basel in Miami Beach, November 30, 2016
On racetrack: Daytona, January 2017
Following their international world premieres, Cao Fei’s and John
Baldessari’s rolling sculptures will continue the racing tradition of
the BMW Art Car series. Baldessari’s vehicle will prove itself on the
racetrack at the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA (United States) in January 2017.
On the other side of the world, the BMW M6 GT3 designed by Chinese
artist Cao Fei will take part in a major race in Asia in 2017.
Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Director:
“We at BMW Motorsport are enthusiastic about this project and
collaborating with Cao Fei and John Baldessari – and I’m sure the
racing fans are as well. The first design studies are more than
promising and make you curious for more. I’m looking forward to an
exciting year 2017 all about the 18th and 19th BMW Art Car.”
18th and 19th BMW Art Car,
the jury:
Richard Armstrong, Director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York),
Chris Dercon, Director, Tate Modern (London), Juan Gaitán, Director,
Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo (Mexico City), Gabriele Horn,
Director, KW Institute of Contemporary Art (Berlin), Udo Kittelmann,
Director, Nationalgalerie Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Dr. Matthias
Mühling, Director, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus (Munich), Hans
Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director, Serpentine Gallery (London), Shwetal A.
Patel, Kochi-Muziris Biennale (India), Beatrix Ruf, Director,
Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Bisi Silva, Director, The Centre for
Contemporary Art (Lagos), and Adam D. Weinberg, Director, Whitney
Museum of American Art (New York).
The BMW Art Car Collection
Since 1975 artists from the world over have been creating Art Cars on
the basis of contemporary BMW automobiles. The collection was
inaugurated when French race car driver and art aficionado Hervé
Poulain in collaboration with the then BMW Motorsport Director Jochen
Neerpasch asked his artist friend Alexander Calder to design a car.
The result was a BMW 3.0 CSL, which in 1975 was raced at the 24 Hours
of Le Mans and became an instant favourite with the spectators: the
BMW Art Car Collection was born. In 2010, the most recent addition to
the series, a car designed by Jeff Koons, was introduced at the Centre
Pompidou in Paris. BMW Art Cars are not only on display in their home
town at BMW’s museum in Munich, they also travel internationally to
exhibitions and museums in Asia, Europe and North America. 2014 saw
the first comprehensive publication on the collection. For further
information, please go to http://bit.ly/1JSDssV
Find the BMW Art Car Collection on our social media sites following:
#BMWArtCar
For further questions please contact:
Dr Thomas Girst
BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs
Head of Cultural Engagement
Telephone: +49-89-382-24753
Leonie Laskowski
BMW Group Corporate and Governmental Affairs
Cultural Engagement
Telephone: +49-89-382-45382
www.press.bmwgroup.com;
E-mail: presse@bmw.de
About BMW Group’s Cultural Commitment
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.
Currently, female artist Cao Fei from China and American John
Baldessari are creating 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 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-925330854231870/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmwgroupculture/
@BMWGroupCulture
#BMWGroupCulture
The BMW Group
With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the
world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles
and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global
company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly facilities
in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2015, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.247 million cars and
nearly 137,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the
financial year 2015 was approximately € 9.22 billion on revenues
amounting to € 92.18 billion. As of 31 December 2015, the BMW Group
had a workforce of 122,244 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.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BMWGroup
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BMWGroup
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/BMWGroupview
Google+: http://googleplus.bmwgroup.com