BMW used this year's Art Basel Miami to unveil its 19th piece of rolling sculpture — the BMW Art Car by John Baldessari. Baldessari is a veteran of as the Los Angeles art scene and a successful champion of both modernism and minimalism.
In the photo: John Baldessari and his new creation.
In the photo: the BMW 3.0 CSL is the first piece of art of an exclusive and unique collection: the BMW art cars. It was created by American sculptor Alexander Calder in 1975.
In 1976 Frank Stella, an American artist and a passionate motor racing fan was commissioned to create the second BMW Art Car: a BMW 3.0 CSL coupé.
In 1977 Roy Lichtenstein turned a BMW 320i into a piece of his art.
The fourth Bmw Art Car, a BMW M1, was created in 1979 by the Pop Art legend Andy Warhol.
In 1982 Austrian painter Ernst Fuchs created the fifth BMW Art Car, a 635 CSi.
The BMW 635 CSI Art Car is the sixth addition to BMW's collection, created by the abstract expressionist Robert Rauschenberg.
In 1989 the Australian artist, Michael Jagamara Nelson, transformed "his" black BMW M3 from the Motorsport section of BMW Australia into a masterpiece of Papunya art.
In the same year, another Australian artist, Ken Done, was requested to paint the same BMW model - M3.
The Japanese artist Matazo Kayama designed the BMW 535i in 1990.
In 1990, another BMW was created - the 730i model, designed by the Spain artist Cesar Manrique.
In 1991, the BMW Z1 was transformed into an Art Car by the German artist A.R. Penck.
In the same year, the BMW 525i model got its new color in ethnic style. The Art Car was created by the South African painter Esther Mahlangu.
In 1992, the Italian artist Sandro Chia covered the racer BMW Touring with colors.
The next BMW Art Car appeared in 1995. The author of its appearance was the British painter David Hockney.
In 1999, the American concept artist, Jenny Holzer, has covered the 15th Art Car, a BMW V12 LMR, with surprising messages.
The next car of the collection pleased fans of BMW only in 2007. The presentation of the Art Car was the most unusual - BMW H2R, a hydrogen-powered vehicle, was shown to the public in the "shell" of metal and ice. The contemporary artist Olafur Eliasson created this car.
In 2010, at the premiere of the 17th BMW Art Car Jeff Koons unveiled and signed his car in front of 300 international VIP guests on June 1 in the Centre Pompidou. The artist admitted to working on the M3GT2 model for a whole year.