Julie Mehretu on her version of the BMW Art Car, performative art, and the meaning of luxury

Artist Julie Mehretu and Thomas Girst, Head of Cultural Engagement at BMW, discuss the new Art Car, performance art on the track, and what true luxury really means.

Julie Mehretu is one of the most influential artists of her generation. Her large-scale works combine political urgency with architectural abstraction, characterised by layering, shifts, and visual complexity. For BMW, she has created her first ever car – the new Art Car. Not a static object, but a mobile artwork conveying movement, memory and collective experience. In her interview with moments, Mehretu speaks about doubt, vision, and the power of pushing art beyond its traditional limits.

Knowing your work, it seemed inevitable that BMW would call you. Were you still surprised?
Julie Mehretu: Totally. I immediately thought: I can’t do this – I don’t paint cars! I said no twice. But Thomas persisted. During the pandemic I saw a photo of the Art Car judging panel with Okwui Enwezor [Nigerian curator, died 2019], and thought: what would Okwui do? The pandemic was a portal. Why not think big? What if I drove from Cairo to Cape Town – and BMW handled the logistics? Then I said yes.

What does the finished car mean to you?
It’s not a painting in the traditional sense, more of a living object. The surface is like a remixed canvas – layered with impressions of our time. It moves through the world and belongs to it – it’s not just an artwork.

What does true luxury mean to you today?
The greatest luxury is our planet. Waking up, seeing the sunrise, feeling connected. Swimming, hiking, breathing – that’s real luxury.

What mattered most to you in working with BMW?
I only wanted to do it if it went beyond the object itself. I insisted on workshops, exchanges, and the possibility of building a network. That’s how AFMAC was born – the African Film and Media Arts Collective.

What drew you to this new format?
I don’t usually work with film, but I consume it constantly. AFMAC gave me the opportunity to imagine new ways of collaborating across Africa – with artists, organisations, and collectives. It’s about rethinking mobility, art, and collective work.

How did this project affect your own artistic practice?
I was working on my paintings at the same time. The moment at Daytona – seeing the car on the racetrack – was a turning point. I pushed the maquette around the studio, parked it between canvases, and then the idea came: what if the car drove through the painting?

Is the Art Car a portrait of our time?
I wouldn’t call it a traditional portrait, but it’s a vehicle layered with memory, remix, and movement – maybe like hauntology in music. A remix of how we imagine the future.

When it comes to bringing art and business into dialogue, Thomas Girst is a key figure. Since 2003, he has headed the cultural engagement of the BMW Group – with projects that set global standards. Girst sees himself less as a curator and more as an enabler: he creates spaces where artistic freedom is taken seriously – beyond marketing logic. In this interview, he talks about the cultural legacy of the Art Cars, corporate responsibility, and the power of genuine collaboration.

BMW launched the Art Car series in 1975 with Alexander Calder. Could such a free project still happen today?
Thomas Girst: I ask myself the same about the architecture we’ve commissioned – from Karl Schwanzer’s 1972 headquarters, which achieved incredibly things there, to Zaha Hadid in Leipzig and the BMW Welt by Coop Himmelb(l)au, alongside Karl Schwanzer’s four-cylinder. My answer: yes!

How do you choose the artists for the next BMW Art Car?
An independent international panel selects them – no corporate influence. The panel that selected Julie Mehretu included Cecilia Alemani, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Anita Dube. We provide the vehicle – the experts make the decision. This creative freedom is essential to us.

What happens when Mehretu’s visual world meets BMW’s technical precision?
That’s the strength in co-creation. Julie is a political seismograph – her engagement runs deep. We want artists to fully commit – in the studio as well as at the 24-hour race.

What does cultural engagement mean for BMW – beyond marketing?
We don’t sell art. We have no vested interest. What matters is genuine value – including for our engineers. Artistic reflection is part of our design thinking. That was true with Olafur Eliasson – and now likewise with Julie.

Any plans to produce Art Cars as a limited series?
Not on our end. If a gallery or the artist wants to – we’re happy to support it. But we stay out of commercial matters.

How do you view the cultural legacy of the Art Cars?
They’re time capsules. They reflect social perspectives and shift over time. One day, we may view them as we now see horse-drawn carriages – as cultural artefacts from a period of transition. That’s why their value is more than visual – it’s cultural.

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