Artist Nikita Gale invites BMW i7 designers to sketch utopian guitar bodies

Frieze and BMW continue their long-term partnership with the major art initiative BMW Open Work by Frieze.

Los Angeles-based artist Nikita Gale will present the immersive installation “63/22” in the BMW Lounge at Frieze London in October 2022. Drawing inspiration from BMW engineering and curated by Attilia Fattori Franchini, this commission brings together art, technology and design in a pioneering multi-platform format.

Nikita’s work has recently been exhibited at 52 Walker (New York); MoMA PS1 (New York); Kunstraum Kreuzberg (Berlin); Swiss Institute (New York); California African American Museum (Los Angeles); Cubitt (Los Angeles); The Studio Museum in Harlem (New York); and in “Made in L.A. 2018” at the Hammer Museum (Los Angeles). Gale’s first European institutional solo exhibition will take place at London’s Chisenhale Gallery in July 2022.

Nikita Gale’s work has appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times, Texte zur Kunst, Artforum, Mousse, Art in America, Art21, AQNB, Frieze, Vogue, and Flash Art. Nikita currently serves on the Board of Directors for GREX, the west coast affiliate of the AK Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems and is a Contributing Editor at Triple Canopy, a magazine and publishing platform based in New York City.

Investigating the history and politics of sound and its surrounding Nikita Gale’s practice questions themes of invisibility and audibility recasting the dynamic between performer and spectator. Within the work, notions of witnessing, visibility and representation are subverted and destabilized.

The technologies of sound and speed have been closely associated since the 1960s. In fact, the Gibson Firebird, one of the most popular electric guitars, was designed by car designer Ray Dietrich and introduced to the general public in 1963.

Gale’s project “63/22” explores the relationship between these technologies and unfolds how they have culturally influenced one another through design. As part of the BMW Open Work 2022 commission, the artist will create a sculptural installation comprising a series of electric guitars imagined in collaboration with BMW i7 designers and activated by live performances in the space.

In addition, the artist will invite the BMW i7 designers to sketch utopian, functional, and dysfunctional guitar bodies, these sketches would provide the starting point for the creation of sculptural guitars, a mixture between a functional object and a sculpture.

BMW Open Work by Frieze is a major artistic initiative bringing together art, design and technology in pioneering multi-platform formats.

Every year since 2017, BMW Open Work by Frieze invited an artist to create a visionary project inspired by technology, engineering prowess and BMW Design that explores current and future technologies as a vehicle for innovation and artistic experimentation.

For the format’s premiere, artist Olivia Erlanger integrated a motion-sensitive sculpture, audio and immersive fog in her work “Body Electric”; in 2018, Sam Lewitt engaged with BMW intellectual property and engine production to conceptually and physically explore the production cycle of a BMW engine in “CORE (the ‘Work’)”; in 2019, Camille Blatrix collaborated with BMW Individual to explore the primal and emotional relationships to labor and materiality, raising questions about functionality and desire in the installation “Sirens”; and in 2020-21, artist Madeline Hollander developed “Sunrise/Sunset” a live networked map composed of hundreds of recycled BMW LED headlights from the BMW Group Recycling and Dismantling Centre, choreographing the sunsets and sunrises across the globe.

Frieze London and Frieze Masters will take place from October 12 to 16 in The Regent’s Park, bringing together galleries from 42 countries, to celebrate the creative spirit of the city.

Led by Eva Langret, Frieze London will feature over 160 of the world’s leading contemporary art galleries.

Frieze Masters, directed by Nathan Clements-Gillespie, will feature over 120 galleries, showing work from ancient to modern.

Eva Langret, Director of Frieze London said: ‘This year’s fair promises to not only celebrate the cultural life of London but also showcase its global reach. The participating gallery list reflects the city’s position as an international centre, bringing together some of the most exciting galleries, from major names to emerging spaces. Frieze’s special sections, of Focus and Indra’s Net, will promote discovery and foreground some of the most exciting creative ideas that are shaping conversations on contemporary art today.’

Nathan Clements-Gillespie, Director of Frieze Masters added: ‘2022 marks an exciting year for Frieze Masters as we celebrate the fair’s tenth anniversary and our launch in Seoul. This year the fair will deliver an unmissable mix of art from across six millennia of history, featuring some of the most loved-figures as well as highlighting previously unknown talent. From Neolithic China to Nigeria in the 1960s, the opportunity for discovery is particularly evident in our special sections Spotlight, curated by Camille Morineau and AWARE, dedicated to pioneering women artists from the 20th century, and Stand Out which returns under the guidance of Luke Syson.’