Temporary exhibition.
Welcome home BMW Art Cars.

The BMW Art Cars are heading home again. From 6 October 2010 to 25 September 2011, the BMW Museum is staging the world’s biggest show of these “rolling artworks”. Since 1975, outstanding artists from around the globe have been stamping their signature on contemporary BMW models. 2010 marks the 35th anniversary of the collection, to which internationally renowned artist Jeff Koons has added the latest BMW Art Car.

The 17 artists hailing from 9 countries and all 5 continents include Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, A.R. Penck, Sandro Chia, Jenny Holzer, Olafur Eliasson and now Jeff Koons. The BMW Art Cars represent the most direct and authentic fusion of art and engineering, and strong demand from museums and galleries the world over is a mark of the acceptance of automobiles as works of art. Among other venues, the BMW Art Cars have been on show at the Paris Louvre, the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum and the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao.

The inception of the BMW Art Cars goes back to the race track. French art auctioneer and racing driver Hervé Poulain was searching for a way to merge his two passions; in Alexander Calder he found the ideal artist and in BMW an open-minded automotive partner. The first model to bring together the realms of art and motor sport even competed in the legendary 24 Hour Le Mans race in 1975. It signalled the birth of the BMW Art Car Collection, one that remains unique to this day.