The BMW Art Car by Jeff Koons will celebrate its North American premiere and will be exhibited in a pavilion in the Botanical Garden next to the fair. American artist Jeff Koons created the 17th car of BMW’s Art Car collection by using a BMW M3 GT2 as his canvas. The Koons car features the number “79” which pays tribute to the 1979 Andy Warhol car. This legendary “rolling sculpture” of Andy Warhol will be on display in Art Basel’s Collectors Lounge in the Convention Center. The pop art icon painted a BMW M1 that raced in the 24-hour race at Le Mans in 1979.
“It is with great pride we bring the Jeff Koons Art Car to the US and present it for the first time publically in North America,” said Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO, BMW of North America. “Koons wanted to design a BMW Art Car because of the tradition set forth by Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and other great American artists, that is why we are very proud to display both the Koons and the Warhol car at the same event.”
BMW will again provide the official VIP shuttle service for visitors to the show, connecting the various event locations and show venues. This year BMW’s shuttle service will include some of the brand new BMW i3 electric vehicles in addition to the BMW 7 Series. The BMW i3 is the world’s first premium car conceived from the ground up to provide all-electric mobility. With its passenger cell made from carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) and BMW eDrive technology designed to deliver zero-emission driving, the first series-produced model from the sustainable BMW i brand heralds a new era in mobility.
Furthermore, the BMW i8, the i brand’s high performance plug-in hybrid, will make its East Coast debut at a reception at the SLS Hotel in South Beach on December 5, 2013.
The 12th edition of Art Basel in Miami Beach takes place in Florida from December 5 to 8, 2013. More than 250 leading galleries from North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa will present works by over 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Besides the artworks on display at the main exhibition hall, various artistic interventions at Collins Park and SoundScape Park will turn Miami Beach this winter again into the international hub of the art scene. BMW has been a partner of Art Basel in Miami Beach for many years and will be involved in this year’s art show with an event of its own.
In addition to Art Basel with its shows in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong, BMW also supports other art shows all over the world, including the Frieze Art Fair in London and New York, Art Toronto, Art Amsterdam, TEFAF Maastricht and Paris Photo in Paris and Los Angeles, as well as the abc – art berlin contemporary and the initiatives Gallery Weekend Berlin and Independent Collectors. Furthermore, the BMW Group cooperates on a long-term basis with cultural institutions and art professionals worldwide, including projects such as the Preis der Nationalgalerie für junge Kunst in Berlin and BMW Tate Live.
More information about the Art Car collection and images are available at: http://www.bmw-artcartour.com/
More information about the cultural commitment of the BMW Group is available at:www.bmwgroup.com/culture and www.bmwgroup.com/culture/overview
About Art Basel
Art Basel stages the world’s premier art shows for Modern and contemporary works, sited in Basel, Miami Beach, and Hong Kong. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition. In addition to ambitious stands featuring leading galleries from around the world, each show’s singular exhibition sectors spotlight the latest developments in the visual arts, offering visitors new ideas, new inspiration, and new contacts in the art world. artbasel.com
BMW’s Cultural Commitment
For over 40 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged in more than 100 cultural partner-ships worldwide. The focus of this long-term commitment to culture is modern and contemporary art, jazz and classical music as well as architecture and design. BMW has worked with artists such as Ger-hard Richter, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Olafur Eliasson, Jeff Koons, Zubin Metha, Daniel Baren-boim and Anna Netrebko and commissioned architects such as Karl Schwanzer, Zaha Hadid and Coop Himmelb(l)au. In London, BMW in partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra, hosts the BMW LSO Open Air Classics, a yearly live concert free of charge in Trafalgar Square, and supports Frieze Art Fair. The BMW Group takes absolute creative freedom in all the cultural activities it is involved in for granted – as this is just as essential for groundbreaking artistic work as it is for major innovations in a successful business.
Further information: www.bmwgroup.com/culture and www.bmwgroup.com/culture/overview
