5 Park West artists inspired by autos
With Detroit in full throttle for the 27th annual North American International Auto Show, running Jan. 12 to 25, Park West Gallery is shining the spotlight on some of its artists who have used automobiles as canvases and inspiration.
Duaiv at home with the Lamborghini Aventador Roadster. Photo courtesy of Duaiv.
The French-born painter and cellist demonstrated his fun style when asked by Ferrari of Palm Beach, Florida to custom design a 458 Spider. The rear of the vehicle features a pattern and color similar to the U.S. flag, and debuted on the Palm Beach International Raceway in October 2013.
This wouldn’t be the last car Duaív’s style would grace. In 2014, the impressionist teamed up with Lamborghini of Miami to create a literal art in motion masterpiece, using an Aventador Roadster as his canvas.
He again teamed up with Ferrari for his third customized vehicle, wrapping his colorful work around a Ferrari FF in partnership with Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale in 2014.
A Porsche wrapped by Romero Britto. Photo courtesy of topspeed.com.
Britto’s colorful neo-pop cubism has been featured on numerous vehicles throughout his career. In 2002, when BMW re-introduced the Mini Cooper, it took executives all of five minutes to decide on selecting Britto to paint one of the vehicles.
He also worked with Volvo in support of Best Buddies International in 2004, painting a Volvo V50. After this initial success, Audi approached Britto to paint a Q7 for then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and two RS-4s, one of which was for New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady and later auctioned off. The second RS-4 toured Brazil and was scheduled to be auctioned for Best Buddies.
Bentley Motors commissioned Britto to paint their one-of-a-kind Bentley Continental GT, known as the “Britto Bentley.” This was auctioned off to benefit Best Buddies International and the Nathalie Todenhoefer Foundation.
Britto’s art in motion hit the road during the 11th annual Art Basel in 2012, painting Champion Porsche’s 2012 Art Car, a 911 Cabriolet. The colorful car features images of animals, people, flowers and other designs.
Britto even painted a taxi that became a moving installation in Berlin, London and Paris.
An electric-powered Volkswagen Golf III decorated by Lebo. Photo courtesy of artcarcentral.com
David “Lebo” Le Batard utilized his postmodern cartoon art expressionism to help the Miami EV Project, a nonprofit that researches the use of electric vehicles instead of gas-powered automobiles. The project converted a Volkswagen Golf III into an electric vehicle, while the exterior was transformed into a work of art by Lebo, using orange, green and blue color schemes.
Lebo was also sought out by Ferrari when it unveiled the Ferrari Spyder. He created a painting based on Ferrari’s famous horse logo that he says tied in the raw essence of Ferrari’s approach.
Seen here is a poster depicting Peter Max’s custom wrap for one of Dale Earnhardt’s racers. Image courtesy of superradnow.wordpress.com
Peter Max took his psychedelic style to a high-performance racing vehicle in 2000. Max designed the paint scheme for one of NASCAR racer Dale Earnhardt’s cars, splashing it with bold, bright colors.
The car stands out among the late racer’s other vehicles, known for their black and silver color schemes. Max had stated he designed the car to look as if it drove though a waterfall of his color spectrum.
“Splitting Image” by Scott Jacobs (1997). Mixed media in color on paper.
Jacobs’ photo-realistic painting style lends itself to creating detailed works depicting vehicles, whether it’s as a licensed artist for Chevrolet’s Corvette division or recreating Playboy magazine’s August 1963 cover of a woman in a Shelby Cobra.
