BMW Celebrates 40 Years of BMW Art Cars

The renowned BMW Art Car Collection celebrates its 40^th anniversary this year. The celebrations got under way with exhibitions inHong Kong, the Centre Pompidou, the BMW Museum and the Concorso d’Eleganza on Lake Como, where the first four BMW Art Cars by Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, plus the M3 GT2 created by Jeff Koons, were on display from May 22 to 24. Further presentations are set to follow later in 2015 in New York, Miami and Shanghai.

In 1975, French racing driver and art enthusiast Hervé Poulain asked artist and friend Alexander Calder to design his race car. With Jochen Neerpasch, then BMW Motorsport Director, also involved in the project, the first BMW Art Car was born – and it became an instant crowd’s favourite.

«The BMW Art Cars provide an exciting landmark at the interface where cars, technology, design, art and motor sport meet,» reflects Maximilian Schöberl, Senior Vice President, Corporate and Governmental Affairs, BMW Group. «The 40-year history of our ‘rolling sculptures’ is as unique as the artists who created them. The BMW Art Cars are an essential element and core characteristic of our global cultural engagement.»

The following 17 artists have created a BMW Art Car: Alexander Calder (1975), Frank Stella (1976), Roy Lichtenstein (1977), Andy Warhol (1979), Ernst Fuchs (1982), Robert Rauschenberg (1986), Michael Jagamara Nelson (1989), Ken Done (1989), Matazo Kayama (1990), César Manrique (1990), A. R. Penck (1991), Esther Mahlangu (1991), Sandro Chia (1992), David Hockney (1995),Jenny Holzer (1999), Ólafur Elíasson (2007) and Jeff Koons (2010).