CALDER ART CAR

Believe it or not, it is actually 2022. I wanted to start off the new year in colorful fashion, so  my first outing was a visit to the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach Florida. I love the feel and flow of this museum, a contemporary structure with a diverse display of arts. As a man of a certain age, I appreciate both art and cars, so the marriage of the two in the form of an Alexander Calder painted classic 1974 BMW is breathtaking.

French racecar driver Hervé Poulain commissioned American artist Alexander Calder to paint a BMW race car. Calder devised dynamic forms in bold colors across the car’s wings, bonnet, and roof that recall the artist’s famous mobiles and stabiles.

The Calder BMW Art Car debuted at 24 Heures du Mans (24 Hours of Le Mans) and was later exhibited widely, including at the artist’s major 1976 retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art. This BMW becomes a kinetic work of art reflective of  Calder’s other works.  Conceived by BMW Group Classic for the Calder Foundation, it was meticulously built from a 1974 BMW 3.0 CSL. The technical painting of the Calder BMW Art Car was done by Poulain and Walter Maurer in 1975 and this Artist’s Proof in 2021.  You can see their mark under the right rear taillight in the photo above, 

The Norton Museum of Art is the first institutional venue in the USA to exhibit the Calder Artist’s Proof (2021) BMW Art Car.

Click on individual images for full screen display. 

Front

Rear with wing

Wide angle view of grill

Elevated view

Using Format