First-of-its-kind exhibit in Colorado Springs features custom cars and motorcycles
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Cottonwood Center of the Arts is hosting a new event called Cars and Stripes, which highlights 13 different artists across the country who are participating in “Kustom Kulture.”
The Cottonwood Center for the Arts describes Kustom Kulture as “the zeitgeist of custom car and motorcycle culture that rose to popularity in the 1950s and continues today. Greasers, hot rodders, moonshiners and psychobilly are among the subcultures associated with this movement, and the style of artwork that developed alongside it is equally diverse and iconic.”
Those attending the event can expect a wide variety of artwork ranging from pinstriping, portraiture, sign painting, illustration, and more.
The Cottonwood Center for the Arts’ creative director, Jess Preble, said she wanted to bring this type of art into a professional setting to showcase a style of art that many people don’t usually see.
“I thought it would be an amazing experience for our community to see art that you would never expect to see in a formal gallery – in a formal gallery,” said Jess Preble.
Many artists present at the event are pinstripers. Pinstriping is the application of a very thin line of paint or other material.
One of the local artists, Patrick Rau, is a local pinstriper. Rau said his father built hot rods growing up and was inspired by seeing the artwork on the cars. He said it was the first time he exhibited his art in a professional gallery.
“I was nervous at first, but it’s pretty exciting, especially with the number of people interested. People had no idea this kind of art even existed,” Rau said.
Managing Director Jon Khoury says his goal is to give all artists a place to express their different artistic styles.
“A good part of the mission of the Cottonwood Center for the Arts is to help identify artistic talent and to give people the opportunity to express themselves through their specific art, and in this case it is stripes and artistic visions for automobiles,” Khoury said. .
The Cars and Stripes event runs throughout the month of July. The gallery will be open Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.