an art car for superheroes

 

Last night Christie’s auction house debuted the BMW art car THE 8 X JEFF KOONS (see designboom’s previous coverage here). the car stood as the final and most exclusive edition of only 99 produced, and the only one signed by the artist himself. An exciting international bidding saw the one-of-a-kind BMW M850i xDrive Gran Coupé sell for 475,000 dollars. 

 

Jeff Koons described the creation as his dream car, created to be a joyful experience for himself and his family together. While the car is playfully transformed in the style of a superhero comic, the owners of the final edition have become superheros themselves — all proceeds of the auction go to the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), a meaningful organization that Jeff Koons has personally been involved with for over two decades. 

 

 

Update September 22nd, 2022: Jeff Koons reveals his ‘Dream Car’ at Contemporary Istanbul. Edition of the BMW M850i Gran Coupé. Visiting Istanbul for the first time as the guest of Borusan Holding and BMW Türkiye, Koons presented his design of the BMW M850i xDrive Gran Coupé — ninety-nine of which have been produced worldwide.

JEFF KOONS X BMW: artist-signed art car sells at christie's charity auction for $475,000 - 1Jeff Koons reveals his ‘Dream Car’ at Contemporary Istanbul

JEFF KOONS X BMW: artist-signed art car sells at christie's charity auction for $475,000 - 2THE 8 X BMW in New York | all images © BMW Group

 

 

Jeff Koons Gives BMW a pop!

 

Jeff Koons (see here) designed THE 8 X BMW as an exciting pop! At Christie’s auction house (see here), BMW’s Thomas Girst noted that the car’s ‘pop’ stood for ‘post-pandemic,’ as it certainly signifies the excitement of getting back out into the world again. 

 

Jeff Koons comments on the spirit of the art car: ‘From the choice of colors to its overall look and use of material my car has a superhero feel to it. Giving to ICMEC and literally saving the lives of children is a superhero endeavor, now more than ever. 

 

‘I am thrilled that the auction of the car was such a great success! It should encourage anyone to get involved and appreciate the great work foundations are doing globally to make the world a better place.’

JEFF KOONS X BMW: artist-signed art car sells at christie's charity auction for $475,000 - 3
THE 8 X JEFF KOONS in New York

 

 

where will the $475,000 go?

 

The funds raised from the sale of Jeff Koons’ THE 8 X BMW at Christie’s will be donated in full to the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC). The important organization was founded with the mission of locating and helping children that were abducted, sold, or facing forced migration, often times alone.

 

Bob Cunningham, CEO of ICMEC comments: ‘This generous contribution will help us to develop better technologies to locate and identify missing kids, including children who are lost, abducted, or trafficked in conflict areas, and to advocate for policies, laws, and interventions that better address issues like the proliferation of child sexual abuse material, online grooming, and live streaming that have emerged as even greater threats to children during the pandemic.’

JEFF KOONS X BMW: artist-signed art car sells at christie's charity auction for $475,000 - 4
Jeff Koons (left), Thomas Girst, Head of BMW Group Cultural Engagement (right) at Christie’s JEFF KOONS X BMW: artist-signed art car sells at christie's charity auction for $475,000 - 5
Charity Auction at Christie’s New York, April 4th, 2022; Artist signature on the B-Pillar of the car JEFF KOONS X BMW: artist-signed art car sells at christie's charity auction for $475,000 - 6
Artist signature on the car auctioned off at Christie’s JEFF KOONS X BMW: artist-signed art car sells at christie's charity auction for $475,000 - 7Jeff Koons with THE 8 X BMW in New York