From September 2 through 5, Frieze Seoul will open its doors at COEX in Gangnam, first time in Asia. The new fair will feature over 110 galleries, including a strong contingent of Asian galleries, who will be joined by international galleries from 20 countries. BMW is a global partner of Frieze and will provide VIP shuttle services. Additionally, the Bavarians will display the BMW 8 Series by Jeff Koons at the BMW Excellence Lounge.
The BMW 8 X JEFF KOONS is easily one of the most fun collaborations between BMW and an artist, as it features bright, bold colors and expressions of power and speed, in a fun superhero comic motif. The “Pop!” symbol and cartoon explosions, along with “vapor thrust” make it look like it’s at speed in a comic book. The bright blue and yellow at the back end evoke images of Koons’ other BMW project, the E92 M3 GT2 Art Car that raced at Le Mans.
There will be 99 examples made, each one requiring an eleven-step paint process and hundreds of hours to complete. BMW will build two cars per week, by specialized teams at BMW’s Dingolfing and Landshut plants. Each vehicle comes with a large-format certificate of authenticity, a unique VIN, and is signed by Koons and BMW CEO Oliver Zipse.
Inside, this unique 8 Series Gran Coupe gets a very Superman-esque color scheme, with tons of blue and red, including the red headliner and floor mats. It also gets piano black trim, with Koons’ signature on the cupholder cover. The BMW 8 X JEFF KOONS was available to US customers in February and cost $350,000, plus $995 destination fee. THE 8 X JEFF KOONS limited-edition will be available in Korea after the fair.
Frieze, which is esteemed as one of the global art fairs, selected Seoul as its first destination in Asia and will be hosting it under the name of Frieze Seoul. The inaugural fair to be held this year is to be participated by world-class galleries including Gagosian, Pace Gallery, Thaddaeus Ropac or Lehmann Maupin. [Source: BMW Korea]
