London/Munich. BMW and Frieze continue theirlong-term partnership with the major artistic initiative BMW Open Workby Frieze. Curated by Attilia Fattori Franchini, the initiative bringstogether art, design and technology in pioneering multi-platformformats. The artist chosen to create the second BMW Open Work forFrieze London 2018 is New York-based artist Sam Lewitt.
The concept
Curated by Attilia Fattori Franchini, BMW Open Work is a majorartistic initiative which brings together art, design and technologyin pioneering multi-platform formats. The New York-based artist SamLewitt is the second artist chosen to create the BMW Open Work byFrieze. Lewitt will debut his ambitious new installation andsoundscape at Frieze London, October 4–7, 2018.
Lewitt’s practice investigates the circulation of information andmatter, opening up operatively closed systems and institutionalstructures in the process.
Entitled CORE (the “Work”), Lewitt’s new commission for BMW Open Workfocuses on motor engineering and technology, to conceptually andphysically explore the production cycle of a BMW engine. Spurred bythe artist’s dialogue with BMW engine specialists, CORE uses physicalmaterials and manufacturing techniques from engineering, to re-imaginethe engine manufacturing cycle as an engine in itself. In the processCORE engages with the structure of the commissioning system itself, byaddressing relations of symbolic and material exchange within thework’s form.
Lewitt’s new commission will unfold as an installation in the BMWLounge at Frieze London 2018, a soundscape in the Courtesy Car Serviceat the fair, and online at closed_core.com.
Franchini said: “Now in its second year, BMW Open Work offers toartists the possibility of engaging in a rich dialogue with BMWengineering and design expertise. This dialogue is a uniquepossibility of encounter and creation between different fields.Working with a sharp artist such as Sam Lewitt, whose projectchallenges conceptually and sculpturally our understanding at the coreof motor corporate production, is absolutely thrilling.”
“Commissioning new work has been at the heart of Frieze London sinceit began. Through this partnership with BMW, we are thrilled to besupporting ambitious, thought-provoking work and opening upconversations between art, design and technology”, said JoStella-Sawicka, Artistic Director, Frieze.
Dr Nicolas Peter, Member of the Board of Management of BMW Group,said: “We are extremely happy seeing BMW Open Work moving forward inits second year. Attilia Fattori Franchini has done an exceptional jobshaping this initiative and making it another great example of BMW’scommitment to artistic freedom in creative practice. It has been veryexciting to see Sam Lewitt engage with our BMW engineers and experts,and I cannot wait to see the result come to life in our BMW Loungelater in the year.”
For further information in the course of the project, pleasego to: https://frieze.com/bmw-open-work
BMW has been partnering with Frieze since 2004. In 2012, theyco-initiated the ‘Frieze Sounds’ program. BMW Open Work builds uponthis long-term collaboration since 2017. Olivia Erlanger wasselected for the inaugural commission. Her work ‘Body Electric’ offered an immersive, sensory exploration of naturalphenomena and their relation to humankind’s technological achievements.
About Frieze
Frieze is the leading platform for modern and contemporary art forscholars, connoisseurs, collectors and the general public alike.Frieze comprises three magazines—frieze magazine, Frieze MastersMagazine and Frieze Week—and three international art fairs—FriezeLondon, Frieze Masters and Frieze New York. Additionally, Friezeorganizes a program of special courses and lectures in London andabroad through Frieze Academy.
Frieze was founded in 1991 by Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp, withthe launch of frieze magazine, the leading international magazine ofcontemporary art and culture. In 2003, Sharp and Slotover launchedFrieze London art fair, which takes place each October in The Regent’sPark, London. In 2012, they launched Frieze New York, which occurseach May in Randall’s Island Park, and Frieze Masters, which coincideswith Frieze London in October and is dedicated to art from ancient to modern.
About Attilia Fattori Franchini
Attilia Fattori Franchini is an independent curator and writer basedin London. She is co-founder of the not for profit platforms bubblebyte.org and Opening Times and contributescritical essays and reviews to international publications. FattoriFranchini is currently working on Curva Blu, a residency project inFavignana, Sicily; the curated_by Festival in Vienna, 2018 and willdirect the next edition of the Termoli Art Prize, Italy.
Recent projects include: Red Lake at Point Centre forContemporary Art, Nicosia, (CY), 2018; the Emergent sectionof miart, 2018; ARS17+ at Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art,Helsinki, 2017; Céu Torto, BFA, São Paulo, BR, 2017; Dawning, Mexico City, MX, 2017; Europa and the Bull, LambdaLambdaLambda, Pristina, KO, 2016; Oa4s, Temra and Davidin 4 parts, Sorbus, Helsinki, 2016; Yves Scherer, SnowWhite and The Huntsman, Mexico City, 2016; BoldTendencies 2015, London.
About Sam Lewitt
Sam Lewitt is an artist based in New York. Selected institutionalsolo exhibitions include: Swiss Institute, New York (2016), KunsthalleBasel (2016) and The Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art, SanFrancisco (2015). Selected group exhibitions include Other Mechanisms, Secession, Vienna (2018), Crash Test, LaPanacée, Montpellier (2018), the 57th Venice Biennale, Venice (2017), A Slow Succession with Many Interruptions, San FranciscoMuseum of Modern Art, San Francisco (2016), Nature afterNature at Fridericianum, Kassel (2014), and Materials andMoney and Crisis, MUMOK, Vienna (2013) and the Whitney Biennial (2012).
About BMW Group’s Cultural Commitment
For almost 50 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engagedin over 100 cultural cooperations worldwide. The company places the main focus of itslong-term commitment on contemporary and modern art, classical musicand jazz as well as architecture and design. In 1972, threelarge-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard Richterspecifically for the foyer of the BMW Group’s Munich headquarters.Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, DanielBarenboim, Jonas Kaufmann and architect Zaha Hadid have co-operatedwith BMW. In 2016 and 2017, female artist Cao Fei from China andAmerican John Baldessari created the next two vehicles for the BMWArt Car Collection. Besides co-initiatives, such as BMW Tate Live,the BMW Art Journey and the “Opera for All” concerts in Berlin,Munich and London, the company also partners with leading museumsand art fairs as well as orchestras and opera houses around theworld. The BMW Group takes absolute creative freedom in all itscultural activities – as this initiative is as essential forproducing groundbreaking artistic work as it is for majorinnovations in a successful business.
The BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMWGroup is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles andmotorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services.The BMW Group production network comprises 30 production and assemblyfacilities in 14 countries; the company has a global sales network inmore than 140 countries.
In 2017, the BMW Group sold over 2,463,500 passenger vehicles andmore than 164,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in thefinancial year 2017 was € 10.655 billion on revenues amounting to € 98.678 billion. As of 31 December 2017, the BMW Group had aworkforce of 129,932 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-termthinking and responsible action. The company has therefore establishedecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment toconserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.
