Maserati supports the Royal Academy of Arts

Maserati has been confirmed as the official partner of the Royal Academy of Arts new exhibition - In the Age of Giorgione.

Celebrating art and style, which is at the heart of the luxury Italian car manufacturer, Maserati will be supporting the Italian-focussed exhibition, which runs until 5th June 2016.

This unique exhibition is a focused survey of the Venetian Renaissance during the first decade of the sixteenth century, a pivotal period, which laid the foundations for the Golden Age of Venetian painting. Works by Giorgione, Titian and Giovanni Bellini, among others are presented in the exhibition, offering visitors the opportunity to view these major works of art, first-hand.

Peter Denton, Region Manager for Maserati North Europe, said, “We are absolutely delighted to be partnering with the Royal Academy of Arts. Art has always been at the heart of the Maserati brand; one of the founding Maserati brothers, Mario, was an artist by trade and it was he who chose the iconic Trident symbol as the Maserati emblem you see on our cars today. Over 100 years since then, it’s fantastic to be merging the worlds of Italian art and car design together.” 

Christopher Le Brun, President of the Royal Academy of Arts added, “This is a fantastic partnership for the Royal Academy of Arts. It is a rarity for the Royal Academy to work with automotive brands and to have the iconic manufacturer Maserati onboard working so closely with an exhibition is very exciting.”

In the Age of Giorgione brings together around 50 works from major public institutions and private collections from across Europe and the United States.

Tickets are available daily at the RA or online at www.royalacademy.org.uk.

One-off Infiniti Q30 sculpture at London Art Fair

Infiniti has unveiled a Q30 with a difference the opening of the 2016 London Art Fair at the Islington Business Centre.

 Located just outside the show's entrance is a special Q30, to which 48,000 copper tacks have been painstakingly adhered, covering half of the hatchback's entire bodywork.

Created with the help of contemporary artist Rachel Ducker, the sculpture is made more dynamic with the addition of one of the human like steel wire figures for which she is renowned, leaning out of the side window. The female figure is topped with long two-tone coloured hair, which is flowing outwards as if it were blowing in the wind.

From one side the Q30 appears untouched while the other side is completely covered in the copper tacks. From a distance the car seems to be covered in a layer of long copper coloured hair but to the touch the sharp heads of the tacks can be felt, just like a bed of nails. 

These tacks were specifically chosen due to the ability of the copper colour to radiate a variety of different shades depending on the light conditions and angle of viewing; similar to the Liquid Copper Q30 launch colour.

Each tack took approximately 10 seconds to adhere to the body of the Q30, which means that that aspect of the sculpture took around 8000 minutes (or 133 hours) to create.

Rachel Ducker, a self-confessed car nut, spends most of her time living either in Oxford or Marrakech these days, but made a special appearance at the show to not only reveal the Q30 but to also meet with the Infiniti Car designer Simon Cox to discuss the thinking behind the project. 

Rachel stated: "My work is all about energy and movement and to put my figures alongside such a well-designed car as the Q30, gave me the opportunity to combine both of my passions. Art is all about what people see as they look at the display, whatever it may be. I do not believe in giving a descriptive list of what it is supposed to mean or what it means to me. Everyone sees things differently depending on the mood of the individual or how the light portrays the image at that particular time." 

Simon Cox, Infiniti design director based in Paddington London, had a similar background to Rachel, studying sculpture and jewellery design, before moving onto cars. Simon was both excited and intrigued to see how the car looked. "It is amazing to see how the copper tacks provide a dramatic effect to how the light reflects across the bonnet and down the shoulder lines. It creates a striking flow as you move around the car. I really like Rachel's work and how she portrays movement to bring her models to life."

The one-off Q30 sculpture will be on display outside the entrance to the 2016 London Art Fair in Islington until Sunday 24 January.