It all started in the Lobby of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
Terry Karges, Executive Director the Museum, explains: “We had such a positive response after displaying Keith Haring’s Land Rover in our lobby that we knew we had to share the rest of his art cars with our patrons. This new exhibit is a prime example of the Petersen’s mission to merge the worlds of art and automobiles.”
So, it is not every day that such diverse worlds of fine art and structural design have compelling complimentarity – but now, the Petersen Automotive Museum brings this compliment alive: five automotive works of art by Keith Haring in its upcoming exhibit entitled The Unconventional Canvases of Keith Haring.
It opens to the public on Saturday, December 17th in the Armand Hammer Foundation Gallery Presented by BMW of North America. This new exhibit explores the works and themes of the renowned New York artist.
Keith Haring rose to prominence in the 1980s and quickly became one of the world’s most influential contemporary artists. While he was alive, his work explored both the political and personal, and through his designs, reached across all divisions of race, class, gender, and sexuality. His works on automobiles were created during artist-in-residencies at the Montreux Jazz Fest and 24 Hours of Le Mans. They were also created at promotional events for the Fast Art Gallery in New Jersey and Galerie Hans Mayer in Düsseldorf.
Vehicles on display at the Armand Hammer Foundation Gallery on the first floor of the Petersen will include a 1962 SCAF/Mortarini Mini Ferrari 330 P-2, a 1963 Buick Special, a 1971 Land Rover Series III 109 Station Wagon, 1987 Honda CBR1000F Hurricane motorcycle and a 1991 BMW Z1. The exhibit will run through Sunday, June 4th, 2017.
