What’s with all the art bikes? Yesterday we linked to Animal New York’s post on Ai WeiWei and Damien Hirst’s non-functioning luxury bikes, but this is just the tip of the art world iceberg. Since Flavorpill’s inception, we’ve scoured America’s cities and traveled through out the world, all so we can bring readers the finest art coverage. We’ve seen A LOT of bikes. Now it’s time for you to take a look at some of the most memorable ones.
Did the non-functional bike craze begin with Marcel Duchamp (pictured left)? Possibly, and he’s still inspiring contemporary artists like Ryan Humphry (pictured right: Bike Red, 2005). Way to go Duchamp!
Who needs a headlight when you’ve got a chandelier? We’re guessing the flame on these candles isn’t wind resistant but that’s clearly not the intended use for this work anyway. This bike’s totally going on our dining room table. First seen a Liste, 2009 Basel Switzerland. Artist unknown. Related: This ready to wear tampon chandelier at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery NY this summer.
This bike was spotted outside the Rubell Collection during Art Basel Miami last December. Nothing says romance like a crocheted bike in the sunset. Surely there’s an art fair missed connections ad that locates this bike.
Damien Hirst sacrificed a bunch of butterflies in 2009 so Lance Armstrong could cycle just a little bit faster. Well, not really — they are just decals — but the motif was clearly inspired by all his butterfly paintings. This bike too was auctioned off for Armstrong’s charity to fight cancer at an event called The Bikes of Stages. It sold for $500,000.
Shepard Fairey interweaves his Obey imagery with classical architectural detailing to create this masterpiece. This one was auctioned off at the same event — The Bike of Stages — and sold for $110,000
Will any object be left untouched by Damien Hirst’s spin painting technique? If this bike is any indication, the answer is no.
Dan Colen didn’t do anything but topple his row of motorcycles earlier this year at Gagosian in New York. Nothing exceptional here, except for the giant pile on of horrible reviews the artist received.
Not all motorcycle shows receive bad reviews. New Yorkers will not soon forget the Guggenheim’s 2001 show The Art of The Motorcycle, which was a crowdpleaser to say the least. The show was a chronological look at vehicles made by non-artists.
A broken bike, crushed by Ai Wei Wei himself will likely bring in a lot of money for the ICA London this year.
Presumably, this Gary Hume bike works but it’s got a bunch of crows for wheel spokes. A known collector sweet spot (?) — this bike will also go up for auction at the ICA London March 29th.
Olav Westphalen attempts to ride his bike made with swastika wheels in this 2007 work, Custom Rim Job. When the piece showed at New York’s Goethe-Institut a few years back, Westphalen reports that “he expected Holocaust survivors to sound the alarm, but the only complaints in the guest book came from his fellow Germans.”