NEW YORK.- A public art installation will open at New York’s Grand Central Terminal on March 25, 2009, featuring two distinct sections and made possible by BMW. One is a collection of four iconic BMW Art Cars designed by Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg. The second is a project by contemporary artist Robin Rhode, who used the all-new 2009 BMW Z4 Roadster mounted with special paint dispensers behind its wheels to create a football-field size painting, a 30’ x 40’ section of which will be shown.

Rhode, Stella and Jake Scott of RSA films, who collaborated with Rhode on the project, will attend a preview of the installation on March 24, 2009. The installation will be free and open to the public from March 25 through April 6, 2009 from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. in Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall®.

“BMW is proud to bring the works of some of the world’s most respected artists to New York City as part of a free public art installation,” said Jack Pitney, Vice President of Marketing for BMW of North America. “It is an honor to know that these artists, and so many others, have garnered inspiration from, or expressed their thoughts and points of view through, our cars. Furthermore, to have Robin, Frank and Jake with us at the installation’s preview makes this moment all the more special.”

The BMW Art Car project has a storied history of more than 30 years. Since its founding in 1975, sixteen of the world’s most respected artists, including the four whose works will be displayed in the installation in Vanderbilt Hall®, have designed BMW Art Cars. The cars have been exhibited by museums and galleries throughout the world, including the Louvre in Paris and the Palazzo Grassi in Venice.

The BMW Art Cars will be accompanied by rare, behind-the-scenes footage of the four cars that will be played in the Grand Central Terminal installation. The videos reveal Warhol painting his car, Stella and Rauschenberg discussing their inspirations and influences in creating their respective pieces and various experts discussing the resulting impact of these works.

Occupying the other half of Vanderbilt Hall will be the most recent example of BMW‘s long-standing commitment to the arts – Rhode’s project. In contrast to the renowned BMW Art Car Program, where artists are commissioned to apply artwork to the car’s existing structure, Rhode was given a car to create an interaction that was documented by Scott. Like in the BMW Art Car Program, the car acts as a catalyst for creativity but in an entirely different, transient way.

From a tower 30 feet above his canvas laid out on the floor, Rhode choreographed the movements of an all-new 2009 BMW Z4 Roadster and used a remote control device to direct when and where colored paint was sprayed onto the tires which marked the canvas. Scott, from 40 simultaneous camera angles, captured the interaction between the artist, the BMW Z4 Roadster and its driver, at Los Angeles’ Downey Studios. Rhode’s paintbrush (the BMW Z4 Roadster) and Scott’s video footage of the action will also be part of the installation at Grand Central Terminal. Scott’s footage will be shown in high-definition on a 16' x 9' screen.

Rhode has characterized his role in the project as a “creative navigator,” expressing the fun relationship between the artist, design and technological advancements.

“As an artist I am always keen to collaborate with other disciplines like dance, music and now film,” said Rhode. “I’m a pure car enthusiast. But I also liked the idea of going through childlike actions to create a painting that is a way to engage with technology and design.”

Beginning March 24, visitors to www.bmwusa.com will be able to view a special "making of" film clip, which shows the entire creative process behind Rhode and Scott’s collaboration, as well as detailed information about the BMW Art Car program.