BMW has always had a strong relationship with the world of art and has expressed this with several “Art Car’s.” In these objects, a BMW becomes a canvas, giving the artist inspiration, as well as a medium to translate his/her vision into a tangible piece of art.
Following in the footsteps of Jeff Koons and John Baldessari is now Cao Fei, who is both the youngest (born 1978) as well as the first Chinese artist to create a BMW Art Car. Being a multimedia artist, he used augmented and virtual reality to make the BMW an art piece in which he incorporated the future of the car itself, focussing on autonomous driving, digitalization, and airborne cars.
Because Cao Fei is a multimedia artist, his art also goes beyond the car itself. People can download a dedicated app (App Store: Keyword “BMW Art Car #18”) to see a unique video relating to the car, as we as augmented reality featuring picturing colorful light particles.
Underneath it all, the BMW Art Car #18 is still a car, and a very capable one, as it is a M6 GT3. Launched in 2016, it immediately won the 24 hours of Spa-Francorchamps, which is known as a very challenging circuit and a difficult race to win. While being a canvas, the BMW Art Car #18 will also see action as it will enter the FIA GT World Cup in Macau in November of this year. There it will be in the capable hands of BMW Works driver Augusto Fargus. This not only provides the Art Car an incredible exposure but also gives art as a whole a new perspective, bringing it to perhaps one of the least likely places to be put on display: the race track!
