Boasting a low ride, enormous size, an elegant stance, and awesome rear tail fins, the Cadillac Coupe DeVille is an unforgettable vehicle. It was one of the longest-running nameplates in General Motors’ history and an icon of American luxury and success. While the first DeVilles saw the light of day in 1958, production continued until 2005.The ‘60 Coupe de Villes have always been seen as luxurious land yachts and have been highly prized. More so if they happened to benefit from some customization work. A fantastic example of the iconic two-door cruiser is this 1960 Cadillac Coupe DeVille that has been turned into an art car by world-renowned artist Kenny Scharf.
If the name does not ring any bells for you, learn that Kenny Scharf is a painter and installation artist born in Hollywood, California, in the late ‘50s. He reached stardom in the art world in the 1980s and is best known for works inspired by comic books and pop culture. His art has been exhibited in some of the world’s most prominent museums, including the Guggenheim and Whitney Museums in New York, the Museu de Arte Moderna in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the Vincent Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
Called Astro Cumulo Uber Express, this art car is one of the artist’s most beloved creations and is described as a celebration of individuality and uniqueness in the face of rampant consumption and disposable culture. It features playful designs in a bright color palette throughout and is sure to grab eyeballs wherever it shows up.Artists have used cars as a metal canvas on wheels since the dawn of the automobile as a means to express their creativity, but Kenny Scharf has taken the idea of art car to a whole new level. This Cadillac Coupe DeVille is a piece of art created in 2005 and made its public debut at the international art fair Miami Basel the following year.
Featuring bright, pastel colors and plenty of graphics and pop-culture references on all of its surfaces, the car is a cheerful expression of the artist’s undeniably recognizable Lowbrow pop surrealism style. For those out of the loop, Lowbrow pop surrealism is an underground visual art movement that developed in the Los Angeles, California area and is heavily inspired by popular culture of the 1960s and 1970s in America.
The idea behind the artist’s works was to take everyday objects and transforms them into art. Through his art, Scharf intended to rebel against mass-consumption conformity. While his early customizations were non-functional machines made from discarded objects found on the streets of New York, he later changed tactics and started creating functional customizations by imaginatively decorating fully-working objects without affecting their utility.Such is the case with the Astro Cumulo Uber Express. It is a perfectly functional Caddy turned into pure and fun art that incorporates the artist’s favorite themes, like visions of Jetsonian futurism, flying cars, cartoonish planets, stars, and other celestial bodies.
For this one-off vehicle, Scharf spent about a month combing through thrift stores in search of discarded items to use in his project. Miscellaneous items were chosen to adorn the Caddy, such as a tiara that sits on the car’s roof, two exploding pink plastic Easter-Island heads, and a green dinosaur that decorate the hood. Seashells, action figures, and more dinosaurs were used to embellish the interior of the car.
The trunk was not neglected either. An LP turntable, a revolving disco ball, rope lights, and animated characters turn the cargo compartment into an explosion of color and joy. While some may see Scharf’s customization too tiring on the eye, the artist is a firm believer that “too much is never enough,” so there is not a square inch on the surface of this car that was left untouched. The car is a spectable and a parade in and on itself. Even the Cadillac’s 390 ci V8 engine and the rest of the mechanics under the hood were given some attention.
The Cadillac DeVille is an expression of 1950s and 60s futurism, a representation of opulence and daring automotive design, and the artist himself saw it as the epitome of American culture and style, so he wanted to honor its heritage. The attention to detail is astounding on the Astro Cumulo Uber Express, and most of the things Scharf chose to paint on the exterior of the car suggest movement even when the car is still. Just take a look at those grinning orbs zooming through aqua vapors, and you will immediately get that impression of forward motion.