On the occasion of 2019 Monterey Car Week in California, Automobili Lamborghini presented a unique Aventador S interpreted by the art of Skyler Grey, the young American artist considered the rising star of world street art.
The one-off Lamborghini Aventador S by Skyler Grey symbolizes the fusion of two artistic concepts: on one hand the automotive art of Lamborghini, where the unique design form, always characterized by taut lines, three-dimensional volumes, and geometries and stylistic elements of the past is combined with groundbreaking technological solutions; on the other hand, the art of Skyler Grey. At just 19 years old Skyler has been called the “Fresh Prince of Street Art” and his iconographic pop style has often brought him comparisons to artists the likes of Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. He is the youngest artist to have his work exhibited in museums and international art fairs, and he was named in the 2017 Forbes “30 under 30” list of the most influential artists worldwide.
Katia Bassi, Chief Marketing & Communication Officer of Automobili Lamborghini, commented: “Because of the affinity we feel with the world of art, we wanted to experiment with a new creative approach, entrusting Skyler Grey with the interpretation of a car that is already itself a work of art. It is a project connected with our new paint shop in Sant’Agata Bolognese, a place where technology and art meet and where our specialists are tasked with turning our customers’ dreams into reality, in the search for aesthetic perfection.”
Delivered to the artist as if it were a blank canvas, the car was painted in the new Lamborghini paint shop just recently inaugurated in Sant’Agata Bolognese. The creative process, which lasted nearly a year, along with three weeks in the paint shop, was carried out in collaboration with an interfunctional team of technologists and specialists in painting, logistics, assembly and quality, who were involved in the project from the feasibility phase right through the production process. Despite the high level of complexity of the work, with the support of the team the artist has brought to life the first street-legal work of art on four wheels.
Skyler Grey used the main techniques of street art, including airbrushes, spray guns, rollers and stencils, to personalize the car body in his typical pop style in orange and yellow. The orange base color, Arancio Atlas (orange), was the canvas on which Grey expressed all his creativity in interpreting the Lamborghini trademark. The exterior parts are enlivened with bold, irregular brushstrokes in yellow, dark orange and white, interspersed with splashes of color and paint dripped onto the surface using the drip painting technique. The body, thus characterized by the alternating of three colors, was then animated by stylized images of bulls running along the side, depicted emerging from the air intakes in a race and from the iconic Campbell’s soup can, as a reference to Warhol’s “32 Campbell’s Soup Cans”.
Like at the bottom of any artist’s canvas, Skyler Grey’s signature appears on the bodywork accompanied by the unmistakable lightning bolt above his name, confirming the authenticity and uniqueness of this work of art. The interiors, in Nero Ade (black) leather with contrasting orange stitching, are personalized on the rear panel with an embroidered image of a cartoon bull, situated between spots of colored paint with a splash effect. The artist’s design for the bull was entrusted to the artistic embroidery skills of Lamborghini’s upholstery specialists.
The Lamborghini Aventador S by Skyler Grey, purchased by an art collector, will be the first Lamborghini to be certified via innovative blockchain technology.
The car is part of the pilot project “Lamborghini Sicura”, launched in collaboration with Salesforce and aimed at protecting the car as a work of art. It involves a process of authenticity certification, which makes use of Salesforce Blockchain technology to guarantee data security and incorruptibility. The protection system aims to prevent counterfeiting; to trace and certify all the information related to the model; and at the same time favor an increase of value for all the stakeholders.
