BMW Showcases Gregor Hildebrandt’s Art Cars and Celebrates 50 Years of Art Car Legacy

BMW reveals electric art cars by Gregor Hildebrandt at Market Art Fair 2025, also displaying iconic Art Cars by Calder, Warhol, Lichtenstein, and Koons.

BMW and Market Art Fair are once again pushing the boundaries of cultural collaboration in Scandinavia. In 2025, their partnership enters a new chapter as German artist Gregor Hildebrandt unveils his latest BMW Art Commission: a mobile installation on fully electric BMW vehicles navigating the streets of Stockholm.

During the 19th edition of Market Art Fair, which runs from May 15 to 18 on Djurgården island, seven BMW i5 and i7 models wrapped in Hildebrandt’s signature visuals will serve as VIP shuttles. One of the vehicles will be parked outside the Liljevalchs Konsthall, bringing art directly into public view.

Hildebrandt’s work, titled “Letztes Jahr in Marienbad”, was originally created in 2022 and draws inspiration from the cult film of the same name. Using a VHS fragment of the film’s first third, the piece explores memory and motion. The artist describes the result as a “kinetic sculpture in a public space,” blending past and present in a mobile form.

This art project is part of BMW’s broader Art Car initiative, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Since 1975, the company has invited renowned artists to transform vehicles into rolling sculptures. Among the icons: Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jeff Koons. For the first time in Sweden, four of these iconic BMW Art Cars will be on display during the fair: the BMW 3.0 CSL (1975), BMW 320 Group 5 (1977), BMW M1 Group 4 (1979), and BMW M3 GT2 (2010).

The choice of vehicles is also symbolic. Fully electric BMW i5 and i7 models serve not only as mobile canvases but also as statements of sustainable progress. With ranges up to 625 km and low energy consumption, they reflect a future where technology and culture work hand in hand.

This edition of Market Art Fair also marks a significant expansion. For the first time, the event goes beyond its Nordic roots, welcoming 51 galleries from across the globe. An independent selection committee of Nordic museum directors and curators ensures a high standard of curatorial excellence.

Represented by Avlskarl Gallery at the fair, Hildebrandt is no stranger to media-based artworks. His past exhibitions include Kunsthalle Praha, G2 Kunsthalle in Leipzig, and Perrotin in Hong Kong. This time, he offers not just an image on a car, but a reflection on time, memory, and urban rhythm.

Once again, BMW reaffirms its dual commitment to innovation and cultural dialogue. The streets of Stockholm are not just roads for electric cars—they are a stage where the past meets the future, carried forward by the quiet hum of progress.