Volvo makes the XC60 disappear into art

Sun, 16 Jun 2013

For the last few years, Volvo has set up an art display in the Zurich, Switzerland central train station called the Volvo Art Session, allowing select artists – both established and up-and-coming – to create temporary exhibits with one of Volvo's products acting as the centerpiece. This year, six artists from across Europe converged in Zurich to turn a 2014 Volvo XC60 into a work of art.

Each started with a blank white canvas, creating a massive display in what Volvo says is one of the busiest covered public places in Europe, and after each was done, it was all erased for the next artists to come in and do his or her thing. While some made the XC60 a focal point in the art, others made the crossover seemingly disappear. We have a gallery of all six finished pieces, but if you want to see background of the artists or time-lapse videos of their works, head over to VolvoArtSessions.com. This site also shows the exhibits from the prior two years, and a press release can be found below.

International artists turn Volvo XC60 into a work of art at Volvo Art Session

For the third consecutive year, Volvo Car Switzerland organised the Volvo Art Session at the central train station in Zurich, Switzerland. Over the weekend of June 7-9, both emerging and established artists took part by giving a 2014 Volvo XC60 a completely new look. The final artistic results can now be found online.

The theme of this year's Volvo Art Session in Zurich was "Designed Around You". On stage stood a white XC60 in front of a white dropback canvas. The international artists where invited to paint, spray and design to make their imaginations come alive. At the end of each session they created a three-dimensional work of art that only existed for a short while until the next artist painted over it. The final results of the constant transformation - pictures and clips - can now be found at http://www.volvoartsession.com/.

"With the Art Session we want to demonstrate that Volvo Cars is a creative and innovative brand which places people at its heart. This unique art happening also enables us to reach new potential customers who hadn't considered Volvo previously," explains Anouk Poelmann, President of Volvo Car Switzerland.

The first Volvo Art Session was organised with contributing Swiss artists. Last year, the invited artists came from China. This year's event was an exhibition of international artists. "The diversity this year was immense, and this was really noticeable. Positive and creative energy flowed throughout the stage where the artists were working. Passers-by were constantly stopping and taking photographs of the work. Many stayed long enough to see the transformation of the car," explains Anouk Poelmann. Volvo Art Session was held at Zurich's central train station, one of the busiest covered public places in Europe.

The art happening has been documented by well-known Italian photographer Francesco Carrozzini. His images will be published in a photo book later this year. Additionally, the continually changing face of the Volvo XC60 has been captured on a high-end time-lapse camera. The Volvo Art Session can therefore also be enjoyed as a cinematic work.

"In the three years since Volvo Art Session started, the event has grown constantly. We continue to attract more and more attention from both the media and the public. We are also attracting increasing amounts of international attention," Anouk Poelmann adds. This year's event was co-hosted by the UK-based art and style magazine i-D.

This year's artists were the renowned German 3-D graffiti artist DAIM, the French-American duo Koralie & Supakitch, the rising street art stars Etam Cru from Poland, the Swiss graphic designer Blanda Eggenschwiler, the Canadian couple Lexr & Evoke, as well as the half-Chinese artist Daniel Man who is based in Germany.

By Jeffrey N. Ross