john baldessari debuts BMW art car #19 at art basel miami

as a global partner of art basel, BMW has been presenting its legendary BMW art cars at the shows in miami beach and hong kong for many years. this year, the luxury automotive brand is presenting the 19th BMW art car by american artist john baldessari to a global audience for the first time. baldessari’s interpretation is one of two commissions announced for 2016, the other of which will be completed by chinese artist cao fei by spring 2017.  

for the 19th BMW art car, john baldessari has imprinted his famous artistic trademarks on a BMW M6 GTLM. as a committed minimalist, he worked with the colors red, yellow, blue and green, and with his monochrome dots. the artist has captured — with a satirical air — the multi-dimensionality of the race car by taking into consideration each of its façades. the most obvious reflections can be seen on the sides of the vehicle, where the word ‘fast’ has been added — transporting the power of the vehicle to the outside and making it visually accessible. on the other side, an image of the same car has been printed, generating a dialogue between two and three dimensionality.

john baldessari comments on his BMW art car: ‘for the BMW art car project, I entered uncharted territory, not just in terms of the subject, but also moving from two- to three-dimensional art. a challenge I did enjoy! the ideas all came at once: for instance, the red dot on the roof, so you can see it from above, FAST on one side and a picture of the car on the other side. I like the ambiguity, having two-dimensional and three-dimensional at the same time. considering the car as an icon of contemporary life, my concept turned out playfully satirical, but it also highlights some of the trademark ideas that I use. so you can say, the BMW art car is definitely a typical baldessari and the fastest artwork I ever created!’ 

ludwig willisch, president and CEO, BMW of north america: ‘it is an honor to add this new masterpiece by john baldessari to the BMW art car collection today. as one of the most important contemporary artists working today, john joins an incredible group from calder and hockney to warhol and koons that has contributed to this collection over the past forty years. he has used his signature aesthetic combining color, shapes and text to create a visually stunning work which will stand out at both the museum and on the racetrack in daytona early next year.’

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