This fall the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) opens Rolling Sculpture: Art Deco Cars from the 1930s and ’40s, featuring 14 cars and three motorcycles embodying the design characteristics of the art deco movement. The exhibition, guest curated by renowned automotive journalist Ken Gross, opens October 1, 2016, and runs through January 15, 2017.
The art deco period—from the 1920s to 1940s—is known for blending modern decorative arts and industrial design and is today synonymous with luxury and glamour. The cars from this era are no exception. While today manufacturers strive for economy and efficiency, during the art deco period elegance reigned supreme. With bold, sensuous shapes, hand-crafted details, and luxurious finishes, the cars and motorcycles in Rolling Sculpture: Art Deco Cars from the 1930s and ’40s provide stunning examples of car design at its peak.
“These exquisite cars—several of which are truly one-of-a-kind—show what can happen when an automaker’s imagination takes the wheel,” says Gross. “There were absolutely no limitations or constraints placed on design, and it shows beautifully. This exhibition is a perfect demonstration of the intersection of art and cars, and the title Rolling Sculpture could not be more accurate.”
Highlights of Rolling Sculpture: Art Deco Cars from the 1930s and ’40s include:
-
A one-of-a-kind aluminum-bodied Speedster hand-built for Edsel Ford in 1934 when he was President of Ford Motor Company
-
A Figoni and Falaschi Delahaye "Salon De Paris" Roadster that was lost in Algeria for decades, then recovered and restored in Switzerland
-
One of five surviving Stout Scarabs, an aircraft-inspired, beetle-shaped Depression-era precursor of the modern minivan
-
The legendary Bugatti Aérolithe, a streamlined, magnesium-bodied sports coupe that looks as though Jules Verne designed it
-
The radical, fully enclosed BMW R7 Concept motorcycle, hidden in a crate in 1935 and discovered 70 years later
-
The Chrysler Imperial Airflow, inspired by high-speed passenger trains—a car so advanced, it scared the public and nearly put Chrysler out of business
-
One of three surviving Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrows, the art moderne star of the 1933 Chicago Century of Progress exposition
-
The last Ruxton of only 96 built, a stunning, low-roofed sedan with an unusual layered paint scheme by interior designer Joseph Urban
In the galleries the cars and motorcycles will be categorized and interpreted based on three themes: Art Deco, Streamlining, and Yesterday’s Car of the Future. “These categories help bring historical and cultural context to the cars and motorcycles featured in the exhibition,” says Caroline Rocheleau, NCMA coordinating curator of Rolling Sculpture. “Many people know a little something about the 1930s but might not be familiar with the era’s automobiles. We hope visitors enjoy learning about the cars’ connection to the art world, their innovative engineering and design, and the reasons these automobiles, hailed as the ‘cars of the future,’ are not seen on the road today.”
For more information on the exhibition and to see an image slideshow of featured automobiles, visit ncartmuseum.org.
About the Exhibition
Rolling Sculpture: Art Deco Cars from the 1930s and ’40s is organized by the North Carolina Museum of Art. It is made possible, in part, by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources; the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation, Inc.; and the William R. Kenan Jr. Endowment for Educational Exhibitions. Research for these exhibitions was made possible by Ann and Jim Goodnight/The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fund for Curatorial and Conservation Research and Travel.
Participating sponsor: Quintiles.