AUTO-NOM-MOBILE - the automobile in contemporary art. An exhibition organised by the Kassel Art Association in Kassel Kulturbahnhof from 15.01.-26.02.2006

Munich / Kassel. A new view of the automobile in modern and contemporary
art will be offered to visitors to the AUTO-NOM-MOBILE exhibition in
the Kulturbahnhof in Kassel. The exhibition concept presents the
automobile as an independent object, throws an unusual light on the
symbolic power of the car - and shows its cultural significance way
beyond the idea of "the vehicle". International artists -
including Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, Jenny Holzer, Wolfgang
Tillmans, Sylvie Fleury and Erwin Wurm - will be showing sculptures and
installations, pictures, photographs and videos. In the exhibition,
the artists who have been selected will be developing a discours which
analyses and deconstructs the automobile in terms of its surface shapes
and its design and structure. Elements of this vocabulary are isolated
so that they can be re-assembled, placed in surprising relationships
with each other or processed materially. The exhibition explores our
fascination with the car as the embodiment of mobility, examines its
relationship with reality and asks about the contradictory feelings of
pleasure and fear that the car can trigger. In this way, a colourful
AUTO-NOM-MOBILE is created. The BMW Group Munich and the BMW
Kassel/Göttingen branch support the exhibition, not only as
partners but also by lending exhibits. With the BMW Art Car Collection,
the company possesses a collection of art works that is unique
throughout the world (including works by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein,
Jenny Holzer, Alexander Calder and David Hockney) and which is being
presented as a series within the scope of AUTO-NOM-MOBILE. With
AUTO-NOM-MOBILE, the Kassel Art Association is making a reference to the
AUTO-NOM exhibition organised by the NRW Forum for Culture and Business
in Düsseldorf in 2003. However, by changing the selection and
integrating other positions taken by artists, in the hands of Bernhard
Balkenhol and Jürgen O. Olbrich this exhibition takes on a profile
all its own. The cultural involvement of the BMW Group has also
constantly been tackling new challenges for the last three decades or
so. Through its collaboration with the Kassel Art Association in the
city of the 'documenta' art exhibition, BMW is underlining the major
cultural policy significance of non-commercial art associations which
only have an obligation to art. Their important contribution to the
encouragement and promotion of young innovative artists is supported by
the BMW Group. The exhibition in the Kassel Art Association is the
curtain-raiser to a tour on the general subject of "The automobile
in contemporary art"; its next stop will be London in 2006,
followed by visits to North America and Asia in the next few years.
AUTO-NOM-MOBILE An exhibition organised by the Kassel Art Association
With the kind cooperation of the BMW Group 15 January to 26 February
2006 Kulturbahnhof Kassel, South Wing Opening times: Tuesday to
Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday until midnight An educational service
has been established for guided tours. www.kasselerkunstverein.de You
will find illustrations of all the BMW Art Cars at
www.press.bmwgroup.com For questions please contact: Corporate
Communications Thomas Girst, Public Relations, Head of Cultural
Communications Telephone: +49 89 382-24753, Fax: +49 89 382-28017
Susanne Spatz, Public Relations, Head of PR Programs Telephone: +49 89
382-20961, Fax: +49 89 382-28017 Michael Kirsch, Head of Public
Relations Telephone: +49 89 382-25111, Fax: +49 89 382-28017 Media
Website: www.press.bmwgroup.com e-mail: presse@bmw.de