BMW and Frieze have been collaboration for quite some time now. The two will be taking their joint venture to a new phase with a new artistic initiative to be premiered at Frieze London 2017. Curated by Attilia Fattori Franchini, BMW Open Work by Frieze brings together art, design and technology in pioneering multi-platform formats. The artist chosen to create the first BMW Open Work for Frieze London 2017 is New York-based artist Olivia Erlanger.

Curated by Attilia Fattori Franchini, BMW Open Work will invite an artist to develop a visionary project annually that creates an immersive experience for the viewer. Drawing inspiration from BMW design, engineering and technology, the commissioned artists will consider current and future technologies as tools for innovation and artistic experimentation. Premiering annually at Frieze London, each artwork will have the potential to unfold across physical spaces, such as the fair’s BMW Lounge and Courtesy Car Service, as well as digital platforms.

The initiative’s title ‘Open Work’ is inspired by Umberto Eco’s literary essay ‘Opera Aperta’ (1962) which proposes the idea that artworks are constituted in part by the public or by chance, and are therefore open to a wide range of interpretations. Franchini has selected international artist Olivia Erlanger for the inaugural BMW Open Work commission.

Franchini said: “BMW Open Work offers artists the opportunity to engage with audiences in new and unexpected ways. The possibility of launching BMW Open Work with such a talented artist as Olivia Erlanger, whose project will observe the effect of technology on humans and nature, is absolutely thrilling.”

“This is a great development of our partnership with BMW, and of BMW’s long-standing commitment to and engagement with contemporary art. I am very happy we are able to launch this new initiative together that offers a unique opportunity to an artist and I look forward to seeing Olivia Erlanger’s project at Frieze London in October,” said Victoria Siddall, Director, Frieze Fairs.

As for Olivia Erlanger, she is the first artist to be commissioned for BMW Open Work. Known for her sculptures, Erlanger’s work has been exhibited in a variety of solo and group shows. She recently co-authored ‘Hate Suburbia’ with Luis Ortega Govela, the second edition of which is forthcoming in Fall 2018. Titled ‘Body Electric’, her concept for BMW Open Work proposes an immersive, sensory exploration of natural phenomena and their relation to humankind’s technological achievements.

“As humans begin a mutative synthesis with our machines, ‘Body Electric’ considers the changing relationship that we have to the environment, as our embodied experience of the ‘natural’ becomes increasingly mediated and distorted by objects of our own design,“ Erlanger said of her creative approach. She is now beginning to develop and produce her commission for BMW Open Work, which will be premiered at Frieze London in October 2017.