See ‘Sensuous Steel’ for an automotive Art Deco treat
The new “Sensuous Steel” exhibit features spectacular automobiles from the 1930s and 1940s that exemplify the classic elegance, luxurious materials, and iconography of motion that characterizes vehicles influenced by the Art Deco style.
NASHVILLE – Now open for viewing at the Frist Center for Visual Arts, Sensuous Steel: Art Deco Automobiles is an exhibition of Art Deco automobiles from some of the most renowned car collections in the United States.
Inspired by the Frist Center’s historic Art Deco building, this exhibition will feature spectacular automobiles and motorcycles from the 1930s and 1940s that exemplify the classic elegance, luxurious materials, and iconography of motion that characterizes vehicles influenced by the Art Deco style.
Fascination with automobiles transcends age, gender, and environment. While today automotive manufacturers often strive for economy and efficiency, there was a time when elegance reigned. Influenced by the Art Deco movement that began in Paris in the early 1920s and propelled to prominence with the success of the International Exposition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in 1925, automakers embraced the sleek new streamlined forms and aircraft-inspired materials, creating memorable automobiles that still thrill all who see them.
The exhibition will feature 18 automobiles and two motorcycles from some of the most important collectors and collections in the United States.
Sensuous Steel is organized for the Frist Center by guest curator Ken Gross, former director of the Petersen Automotive Museum. Most recently, Gross curated Speed: The Art of the Performance Automobile exhibited at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City and the opening exhibition for LeMay–America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, Wash. A highly respected automotive journalist for over 40 years, Gross writes for numerous publications including Old Cars Weekly.
An illustrated catalogue will accompany the exhibition.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE AUTOMOBILES IN THE EXHIBITION:
- 1929 Cord L-29 Cabriolet
- 1929 Bugatti Type 46 Semi-profile Coupe
- 1930 Henderson KJ Streamline
- 1930 Jordan Model Z Speedway Ace Roadster
- 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow Sedan
- 1934 Model 40 Special Speedster™
- 1934 Packard Twelve Model 1106 Sport Coupe by LeBaron
- 1934 Voisin Type C27 Aérosport Coupe
- 1935 Chrysler Imperial Model C-2 Airflow Coupe
- 1936 Cord 810 "Armchair" Beverly Sedan
- 1936 Delahaye 135M Figoni & Falaschi Competition Coupe
- 1936 Stout Scarab
- 1937 Delahaye 135MS Roadster
- 1938 Hispano-Suiza H6B Dubonnet “Xenia” Coupe
- 1938 Talbot-Lago T-150C-SS Teardrop Coupe
- 1938 Tatra T97
- 1939 Bugatti Type 57C by Vanvooren
- 1939 Delage D8-120S Saoutchik Cabriolet
- 1940 Indian Chief
- 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt
