Andy Warhol M1 Headlines BMW Art Car World Tour In Dubai

BMW’s Art Car World Tour, the biggest demonstration yet of BMW’s famous “rolling sculpture” collection, completed its latest leg in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, this past weekend with possibly the most famous example in the collection, Andy Warhol’s Psychedelic M1 from 1979. A model that, incredibly, the American Pop Artist painted in less than 30 minutes.

AND He Didn’t Use A Miniature

Like Frank Stella, Alexander Calder and Roy Lichtenstein, who completed their own ‘Art Cars’ in 1975, 1976 and 1977, Warhol was commissioned directly by BMW. For no money! But, unlike his three predecessors, Warhol opted against creating his design on a miniature model and allowing a BMW artisan to paint the full-size model, and instead chose to paint the design himself. Also, like the 3.0 CSLS (Stella and Calder) and the 320i Turbo that had come before it, the M1 made its debut, in competition, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1977. To mark the occasion, Warhol opted for a design that, unlike the more stylized work of Stella, Calder and Lichtenstein, was deliberately blurred to convey the mid-engined legend’s sense of speed (the M1 was capable of 165 MPH). Impressively, Warhol applied all 13 pounds of paint in one sitting and in only 28 minutes!

In a fitting tribute to the speed in which it was readied, the Warhol M1 was piloted to 6th overall by Hervé Poulain, Marcel Mignot, and Manfred Winkelhock before it was retired to the official BMW Museum.

Next Stop: Taiwain… And Switzerland

Also showcased at the ‘(R) EVOLUTION OF ART’ in Vienna, the Warhol M1 was the only example of the brood displayed at this past weekend’s Art Dubai fair at Madinat Jumeirah. Founded in 2007, and dubbed “the most significant global art gathering in the Middle East,” Art Dubai featured close to 120 contemporary, modern and digital art pieces – including the M1 – from artists representing more than 40 different countries.

The next leg of the BMW Art Car World Tour, meanwhile, will be held on 9-11 May in Taiwan, though confirmation of which Art Cars will be on display has yet to be made. One week later, the tour moves on to Bratislava in Slovakia, where three models – Frank Stella (#2), Michael Jagamara Nelson (#7), and Matazo Kayama (#9) – will be presented. BMW will also celebrate 50 years of its official dealership in Switzerland with a six-car Art Car display, the biggest yet for the tour. Once again though, a confirmed date has now been specified.

50 Years of BMW Switzerland. Confirmed Display

• Ernst Fuchs (#5) – BMW 635 CSi, 1982
• Ken Done (#8) – BMW M3 Group A, 1989
• A. R. Penck (#11) – BMW Z1, 1991
• David Hockney (#14) – BMW 850 CSi, 1995
• Jenny Holzer (#15) – BMW V12 LMR, 1999
• John Baldessari (#19) – BMW M6 GTLM, 2016

As well as the latest leg of the BMW Art Car World Tour, the Art Dubai collaboration was also the latest step in the BMW Group’s “ongoing support for the arts and its commitment to fostering artistic dialogue.” The Bavarian brand recently collaborated with Julie Mehretu, the 20th Art Car artist, as she opened on the new ‘African Film and Media Arts Collective,’ established to champion the nation’s myriad artists and filmmakers.

BMW Art Car World Tour. Confirmed Dates, Locations And Artists