artists engage the automobile at LA's venus gallery

exploring the relationship between art and automobile, LA’s venus gallery presents ‘piston head II’, an exhibition spotlighting the ways in which a car can be both a cultural icon and sculptural object. as one of the most important machines of modern life, the vehicle has both shaped human experience and been a creative outlet for countless artists over the years.

garage italia: alfa romeo 4C painted with hokusai’s the great wave off kanagawa, 2016
customized alfa romeo 4C
48 x 162 x 84 inches, 121.92 x 411.48 x 213.36 cm

the artists featured in the exhibition at venus include: césar, katherine bernhardt, matthew day jackson, olivier mosset, richard prince, sterling ruby, peter shire, keith haring, will boone, lawrence weiner, and jonas wood. additionally, garage italia customs — a milan-based creative hub dedicated to tailor-made customizations — have personalized an alfa romeo 4C and a BMW i8 exclusively for the exhibition.

garage italia: BMW i8 painted with giacomo balla’s street light, 2016
customized BMW i8
51 x 185 x 72 inches, 129.54 x 469.9 x 182.88 cm

on from now through september 10, 2016, ‘piston head II’ celebrates the intersection of art and cars and its varied creative potential. from olivier mosset’s motorcycles recontextualized in a gallery space, to sterling ruby’s caged-in bus, to a quintessential richard prince muscle car, the exhibition seeks to explore the expressive relationship between aesthetics and utility.

jonas wood: untitled, 2016
customized 1993 volvo 240, acrylic paint
190 7/10 x 67 3/10 x 57 1/2 inches, 484.4 x 170.9 x 146.1 cm

richard prince: the odyssey, 2016
1970 challenger and acrylic paint
192 x 78 x 54 inches, 487.7 x 198.1 x 137.2 cm

lawrence weiner: untitled (sow the wind, reap the whirlwind), 2015
nash metropolitan, paint
57 x 155 x 61 inches, 144.8 x 393.7 x 154.9 cm

olivier mosset: flathead, 1954
1954 harley davidson
48 x 88 x 36 inches, 121.92 x 223.52 x 101.6 cm

katherine bernhardt: jungle jaguar, 2016
customized 1994 jaguar Xj6
52 x 195 x 65 inches, 132.1 x 495.3 x 165.1 cm

olivier mosset: da, 1962
1962 harley davidson
46 x 82 x 40 inches, 116.84 x 208.28 x 101.6 cm

keith haring: untitled (range rover), 1983
enamel on 1982 range rover
84 x 71 x 181 inches, 213.4 x 180.3 x 459.7 cm

sonny nutter: homage to billy al bengston, 2016
custom triumph motorcycle
84 x 34 x 48 inches, 213.4 x 86.4 x 121.9 cm

sterling ruby: bus, 2010
bus, steel, spray paint, stainless steel spheres, speakers, sub-woofers, tires, foam, vinyl, T5 fluorescent light fixtures, T5 bulbs, electrical conduit
112 x 96 x 491 inches, 284.5 x 243.8 x 1247