Joshua Vides Transforms Petersen Automotive Museum into a Hand-Drawn Garage

Joshua Vides, known for his distinctive Reality to Idea aesthetic, has turned a gallery at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles into an immersive, hand-drawn environment. The exhibition, titled “Flat Out: The Art of Joshua Vides,” features five vehicles, along with tires, gas pumps, and signage, all meticulously rendered in Vides’ signature crisp black-and-white linework.

Monochromatic Canvas

Upon entering the Armand Hammer Foundation Gallery, visitors are greeted by a space that appears as if stripped of color and transformed into a full-scale sketch. Vides’ work meticulously traces every seam, shadow, panel, and edge across the surfaces of the cars and the surrounding garage elements. The effect is a dramatic flattening of three-dimensional objects into a graphic composition, challenging the viewer’s perception of form and space. Signs like “Vides Auto Body” and graphics such as “NO PARKING” are integrated into the drawn environment, reinforcing the automotive workshop theme.

From Object to Environment

Vides’ approach, which involves coating real objects in white and then overlaying them with black lines, has previously been applied to individual items. However, “Flat Out” expands this concept to an entire environment. The artist spent nine days hand-painting the five vehicles, the gallery walls, and various garage props, creating a singular, cohesive black-and-white world. This project marks a significant scale shift from his past collaborations with brands like Nike, Converse, and Fendi, where the car itself becomes just one component within a larger drawn narrative.

Visual Deconstruction of Automotive Design

The exhibition showcases a unique perspective on automotive design. Vides’ linework emphasizes the formal qualities of the vehicles, reducing them to outlines around crucial features such as taillights, vents, and grilles. A Ferrari is defined by thick outlines around its rear elements, while a Mercedes-Benz is presented beneath stark typography, its bodywork sharpened by the same hand-painted lines found on adjacent gas pumps and stacked tires. The gallery’s reflective floor further enhances the illusion, doubling the linework and dissolving the physical presence of the cars into the drawn space.

The Garage as Art

“Flat Out” succeeds by drawing from the everyday vernacular of car culture. Vides elevates elements typically found in repair bays and body shops—tire piles, signage, and the general architecture of a garage—to the same artistic status as the vehicles themselves. This approach invites a different way of looking at automotive design, focusing on the translated surface and the artist’s hand rather than solely on finish, rarity, or performance. The car’s identity becomes intertwined with the act of drawing, memory, and the viewer’s spatial experience within the installation.

Key facts

This exhibition offers a compelling intersection of art and automotive culture, providing a fresh visual language for understanding both. For readers interested in design, art, and the intersection of these fields, Vides’ work at the Petersen Automotive Museum provides a unique opportunity to experience a familiar environment reinterpreted through a singular artistic vision.

Source: https://www.designboom.com/art/five-hand-painted-cars-joshua-vides-monochromatic-garage-petersen-automotive-museum-flat-out/