BMW reveals its newest 'Art Car' creation, crafted by abstract artist Julie Mehretu.
Julie Mehretu, an Ethiopian American artist known for her abstract paintings, was chosen last year to create BMW's newest 'Art Car.' Her work, featured on a BMW M Hybrid V8, was recently unveiled at the Pompidou Center in Paris and will be used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race next month. This track-only racing car, developed in partnership with Italian race car manufacturer Dallara, is low, wide, and has a massive rear wing and vertical rudder.
This commission - the 20th BMW Art Car - required Mehretu to adapt her famous piece, "Everywhen," which is now part of the Museum of Modern Art collection in New York City. The car and painting are covered in broad washes of color and bold black lines.
Speaking about the project, Mehretu stated, "In my studio, where I had the model of the BMW M Hybrid V8, I was simply sitting in front of the painting and I thought: What if this car seems to go through that painting and becomes influenced by it? The concept was to create a remix, a mash-up of the painting. I kept envisioning that painting dripping into the car."
The first BMW Art Car was painted in 1975 by American sculptor Alexander Calder, after French racing driver Hervé Poulain proposed the idea to BMW. Poulain drove the Calder-painted BMW 3.0 CSL at Le Mans that year. In 1977, Roy Lichtenstein covered a BMW 320 Group 5 with his famous graphic stripes and dots. Warhol painted a BMW M1 in 1979 using textured, pastel brushstrokes.
The first female artist to create a BMW Art Car was South African artist Esther Mahlangu, in 1991. Her creation was a 525i sedan. In 1996, Holzer adorned a BMW Le Mans race car with phrases like "Protect Me From What I Want."
Julie Mehretu's work often draws inspiration from architecture and urban life, showcasing intricate juxtapositions of lines and shapes. These elements, inspired by technical drawings and building plans, are sometimes combined with splashes of color or deep darkness. She has tackled themes like migration, colonialization, and globalization in her innovative, abstract works.
Her pieces, known for their human aspect and complex emotions, evoke a sense of movement and complexity. Mehretu's largest piece to date is an 80-foot-long mural she created for the lobby of the Goldman Sachs building in Manhattan. It's chaotic and bright; vibrantly colored forms appear to be shooting across the immense wall. Other works, like "Mogama (A Painting in 4 Parts)," are more subdued and thoughtful but continue to convey a feeling of motion.
Represented by the Marian Goodman Gallery, Mehretu's art is described as "a dynamic visual articulation of contemporary experience, a depiction of social behavior and the psychogeography of space." Her practice involves her in painting, drawing, and printmaking, each contributing to the role of art in provoking thought and reflection and representing the contemporary experience of individuals and society.
Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1970 to an Ethiopian father and an American mother, Mehretu's family relocated to the United States in 1977 to escape the ongoing civil war. She received her Masters of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1997 and currently resides in New York.
Praised for her creations, Mehretu has been given significant accolades, such as a MacArthur Fellowship in 2005 and a US Department of State Medal of Arts Award in 2015. She was chosen for this project by a jury of influential galleries and museum directors.
Madeleine Grynsztejn, Pritzker Director at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and a member of the jury, commented on Mehretu's selection: "Julie is the ideal artist for the BMW Art Car project. For years, she has painted speed, and she's been successful in large-scale works. To combine her artwork with the shape and form of a high-speed vehicle is truly a perfect match."
She was born and raised in Ethiopia but moved to the U.S. in 1977 due to the civil war. Mehretu attended the Rhode Island School of Design and has garnered significant acclaim for her work. She was the 20th artist chosen to create a BMW Art Car. She has also received prestigious awards like the MacArthur Fellowship in 2005 and the US Department of State Medal of Arts Award in 2015. Her style is known for its intricate details, often drawing on architecture and busy city scenes. Her artwork, such as "Everywhen," found in the Museum of Modern Art, has inspired people worldwide. Madeleine Grynsztejn, the Pritzker Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, recognizes Julie Mehretu as the perfect artist to design the new BMW Art Car, given her experience painting speed and success with big-scale works.
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The BMW Art Car commission asked Mehretu to adapt her famous abstract painting "Everywhen," which incorporates broad washes of color and bold black lines, for her creation. Julie Mehretu's style often involves combining intricate juxtapositions of lines and shapes inspired by architecture and urban life with splashes of color or deep darkness.
Source: edition.cnn.com
