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| From Left to Right: Philipp von Sahr, President BMW Group India and Dr. Thomas Girst, Head of Cultural Engagement, BMW Group |
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| From Left to Right: Dr. Thomas Girst, Head of Cultural Engagement, BMW Group, Neha Kirpal, Founder Director India Art Fair and Philipp von Sahr |
Art in Motion: BMW Group brings the 10th BMW Art Car to India.
Presentation from 28-31 January 2016 at India Art Fair in New Delhi.
New Delhi. BMW Group India presented the 10th BMW Art Car created by internationally celebrated artist César Manrique at the India Art Fair 2016. César Manrique created the 10th Art Car for BMW in 1990 with the BMW 730i.
The BMW Art Cars or the ‘Rolling Sculptures’ are original masterpieces of art that demonstrate an individual synthesis of artistic expression and automobile design. Since 1975, seventeen prominent artists from across the world have created Art Cars on the basis of contemporary BMW automobiles of their times, all offering a wide range of artistic interpretations.
#10 BMW Art Car César Manrique 1990 BMW 730i was exclusively unveiled at India Art Fair by Mr. Philipp von Sahr, President – BMW Group India, Dr. Thomas Girst, Head Cultural Engagement – BMW Group and Ms. Neha Kripal, Founding Director – India Art Fair. The BMW Art Car will be exhibited from 28-31 January 2016 at India Art Fair in New Delhi.
Mr. Philipp von Sahr, President, BMW Group India said, “Since its inception, BMW India has been committed to the world of art and culture in the country. The BMW Art Cars are an indispensable component and a core platform of our cultural engagement. They are unique creations combining automobiles, technology, design and art. The artistic expressions of the ‘Rolling Sculptors’ symbolize the pioneering spirit of BMW Group that challenges the imagination of creative minds across the world. We are very excited to present the 10th BMW Art Car by César Manrique here amidst the best Indian art installations at the India Art Fair.”
BMW Art Car Collection
For over 40 years, BMW Art Car Collection has fascinated art and design enthusiasts as well as lovers of cars and technology with its unique combination of fine art and innovative automobile technology. Several cars from BMW Art Car Collection are usually on display at the BMW Museum in Munich, the home of BMW Art Cars, as part of its permanent collection. The remaining BMW Art Cars travel the globe – to art fairs as well as exhibitions.
The BMW Art Car collection was born when French race car driver and art aficionado Hervé Poulain, together with Jochen Neerpasch, then BMW Motorsport Director, asked his artist friend Alexander Calder to design an automobile. The result was a BMW 3.0 CSL which competed in 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1975, where it quickly became the crowd’s favourite. Since then, 17 international artists have designed BMW models, among them some of the most renowned artists of our time: Alexander Calder (BMW 3.0 CSL, 1975), Frank Stella (BMW 3.0 CSL, 1976), Roy Lichtenstein (BMW 320 Group 5, 1977), Andy Warhol (BMW M1 Group 4, 1979), Ernst Fuchs (BMW 635CSi, 1982), Robert Rauschenberg (BMW 635CSi, 1986), Michael Jagamara Nelson (BMW M3 Group A, 1989), Ken Done (BMW M3 Group A, 1989), Matazo Kayama (BMW 535i, 1990), César Manrique (BMW 730i, 1990), A. R. Penck (BMW Z1, 1991), Esther Mahlangu (BMW 525i, 1991), Sandro Chia (BMW M3 GTR, 1992), David Hockney (BMW 850CSi, 1995), Jenny Holzer (BMW V12 LMR, 1999), Ólafur Eliasson (BMW H2R, 2007) and Jeff Koons (BMW M3 GT2, 2010).
On 19 November 2015, at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of BMW Art Cars at Guggenheim Museum in New York, a jury of distinguished museum directors and curators chose two internationally renowned artists to design one BMW Art Car each. Chinese artist Cao Fei and American artist John Baldessari both will separately create the next BMW Art Cars in 2017 with the BMW M6 GT3.
The BMW Art Car Collection is by no means complete as it stands. The number of exhibits will continue to grow adding artistic expressions to the collection.
#10 BMW Art Car César Manrique 1990 BMW 730i
For the BMW Art Car project, Manrique took it upon himself to unite technology and art which in his opinion are two different worlds. “I wanted to give the car a shape that would create the impression that it was gliding effortlessly through the space. I tried to use an aesthetic concept to express in a single object the idea of speed and aerodynamics,” he explained. Dynamic forms, as well as glowing red, green, blue and violet tones, convey the impression of supple movement. The idea was one of a bird in flight. Neutral elements such as insects of the sea repeatedly served as the inspiration for his works.
From the point of view of both an architect and an artist, César Manrique had a clear opinion of the automobile: an indispensable feature of daily life, it shapes the picture of our towns and greatly influences the way we see the world around us. When designing the Art Car, Manrique was greatly inspired by the differing concepts of movement. The artist said he had tried “to unite the notions of speed and aerodynamics with the concept of aesthetic appeal in one and the same object.” Glowing colors and broad, sweeping strokes which blend into the outlines of the automobile are suggestive of effortless gliding and lithe movement. Manrique, the advocate of harmony between man and nature and between culture and nature, remains fully aware that along with the achievement of mobility, beginning with the invention of the wheel, human civilisation took a “quantum leap” forward.
Manrique’s BMW 730i was intended solely as an exhibit and was never driven on the road or in a race. The technical data of Manrique’s BMW 730i: six-cylinder inline engine with over-head camshaft, displacement 2986 cm3, power output 188 bhp. Top Speed: 222 km/hr.
César Manrique
Manrique is recognized as a universal talent – architect, sculptor, designer, object artist and painter. It took over forty years from 1919, when Manrique was born on the island of Lanzarote in the Canaries, for the first public exhibition of his work to appear. He achieved his breakthrough at the Biennale in Venice in 1960. Pictures painted by the ardent ecologist and landscape designer dealt mainly with the theme ‘Geology and Vulcanism’. In both bright and subdued colours, he rendered light and lava and their interplay visible. This breakthrough was soon followed by success in the USA, including exhibitions in New York where the artist lived for three years from 1965 onwards. In 1978, he was awarded the Grand Cross for Distinguished Service by the King of Spain. In 1986, his work was placed alongside that of Goya and Velazquez representing his country at the Spanish exhibition in the Seibu Museum in Tokyo. Over 40,000 visitors from all over the world came to see his works at the Hybernu Palace in Prague in 1990. Manrique died in 1992 at the age of 72.
About BMW’s Cultural Commitment
Since its inception, BMW Group India has participated in leading cultural engagements across the country. In 2007, two BMW Art Cars embellished by world renowned artists Andy Warhol (BMW M1, 1979) and Roy Lichtenstein (BMW 320i, 1977) were presented at the Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai. In 2012-13 and 2014-15, BMW partnered with Kochi-Muziris Biennale, the contemporary art fair, which brings international artists to India and creates a global platform for Indian artists. In 2012-13, the innovative BMW Guggenheim Lab came to India. Based at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum and conducted at six different sites in Mumbai, the lab organised six weeks of free program with diverse audience and communities addressing the challenges and conditions of the urban city.
For more than 40 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged in over 100 cultural cooperations worldwide. The company places the main focus of its long-term commitment on modern and contemporary art, jazz and classical music as well as architecture and design. In 1972, three large-scale paintings were created by artist Gerhard Richter specifically for the foyer of BMW Group's Munich headquarters. Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Olafur Eliasson, Jeff Koons, Zubin Metha, Daniel Barenboim and Anna Netrebko have cooperated with BMW. The company has also commissioned famous architects such as Karl Schwanzer, Zaha Hadid and Coop Himmelb(l)au to design important corporate buildings and plants. In 2011, the BMW Guggenheim Lab, a global initiative of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the BMW Group celebrated its world premiere in New York. 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 ground-breaking artistic work as it is for major innovations in a successful business.
BMW Group India.
As a global company, the BMW Group operates 30 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries. With its three brands, BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group has its sight set firmly on the premium sector of the Indian automobile market. Along with its automotive concerns, the BMW Group's activities in India comprise the marketing of motorcycles, as well as financial services for its premium clientele. Headquartered in Gurgaon (National Capital Region), BMW India is a 100% subsidiary of the BMW Group. Till date, BMW Group has invested over 4.9 billion Indian Rupees (€ 69 million) in BMW India. The wide range of BMW activities in India include a manufacturing plant in Chennai, a parts warehouse in Mumbai, a training centre in Gurgaon NCR and development of a dealer organisation across major metropolitan centres of the country. The BMW Plant Chennai locally produces the BMW 1 Series, the BMW 3 Series, the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo, the BMW 5 Series, the BMW 7 Series, the BMW X1, the BMW X3 and the BMW X5. BMW India has set a decisive course by setting up BMW dealerships of international standards across the country. Currently, BMW India has 38 sales outlets in the Indian market.
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