BMW India brings Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein to India

BMW India presented today two BMW Art Cars embellished by world renowned artists Andy Warhol (BMW M1, 1979) and Roy Lichtenstein (BMW 320i, 1977) at the Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai – a rare opportunity for motoring and art enthusiasts. The BMW Art Cars are original masterpieces of art that demonstrate individual synthesis of artistic expression and automobile design.

The BMW Art Cars were unveiled by Shri Ashok Shankarrao Chavan, Honourable Minister for Cultural Affairs, Industries, Mines and Protocol, Government of Maharashtra along with Mr. Peter Kronschnabl, President BMW India.

Shri Ashok Shankarrao Chavan, Minister for Cultural Affairs, Industries and Protocols, Government of Maharashtra said, "This unique exhibition of BMW Art Cars demonstrates the synergy between art, technology and innovation, and is testimony to Mumbai's reputation of being India's art capital. This exhibition is an important milestone in Mumbai's cultural history".

Two BMW Art Cars will be exhibited in Mumbai at the Jehangir Art Gallery, from 6 to 15 September, 2007. The exhibition concludes the Asia Pacific tour that travelled through Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, the Phillippines, Korea and China. 

Mr. Peter Kronschnabl, President BMW India, said "The artistic expressions of "rolling sculptures" embody the innovative spirit that is at the core of BMW as a company. Cars have become a new and interesting medium for art in several ways: They express movement; they mean a completely different medium and therefore a challenge for the artists; they stand for the symbiosis of art and technology as well as mobility."

"We want to bring to India the best of everything from the BMW world, from Cars, Services, and Training to Art and Culture, Sustainability and CSR programmes" Mr. Peter Kronschnabl added.

Since 1975, prominent artists from throughout the world have designed BMW automobiles of their times, all making extremely different artistic statements. The sixteen exhibits created for the Art Car Collection until now include works by well-known artists such as Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, A.R. Penck, David Hockney, and Jenny Holzer. The Art Cars reflect the cultural and historical development of art, design, and technology.  It was originally the French racing driver Hervé Poulain who had the idea of letting an artist have his or her way with an automobile. Poulain commissioned American artist Alexander Calder to paint his BMW racing car in the early 70's; this was the spark which led BMW to establish the Art Car Collection.

Dr. Ulrich Lehmann, Research Fellow, Victoria and Albert Museum, London a specialist on History of Design who was present at the occasion said "The exhibition concept presents the automobile as an independent object and throws an unusual light on the symbolic power of the car – while showing its cultural significance that goes way beyond the idea of "the vehicle".

Andy Warhol

The name Andy Warhol is the quintessence of pop art. Born in Pittsburgh USA in 1928, he studied from 1945 to 1949 at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He began his artistic career as a commercial artist and was successful in holding his own exhibition in New York as early as in 1952. In 1956 his work was acknowledged with the coveted "Art Director's Club Award". 1962 saw the creation of the legendary "Factory" – a negation and reversal of traditional artistic ideas as it had never been seen before. His celebrity portraits and paintings of trivial objects became famous. Warhol died in New York in 1987.

Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein, who was born in New York in 1923, is considered to be one of the founders of American pop art. Until 1938 he painted portraits of jazz musicians, attended the "Art Students League", finally studying art in Ohio. His earlier works range from cubism to expressionism. He did not become interested in trivial culture such as comics and advertising until the late fifties. His pop art paintings were created in 1961. These were followed by caricatures of the "American way of life", experiments with well-known works of art, sculptures and films. He died in New York in 1997.

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