Last January, four artists—Dwight Knowlton, myself, Lyn Hiner, and Bill Pack—gathered at the Warehouse in Mesa, Arizona during Car Week and put on a one-of-a-kind exhibit focused on the automotive form. Each of us not only brought different artistic styles to the show but also completely different perspectives on what we do and why we do it. The center of our attention for the exhibition was the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO and each of us drew what we each saw. How different those visions were! And yet, how unified at the same time.

The idea was simple, even if the execution was decidedly not—create a relaxing environment where automotive loving people could come, hang out, see some really amazing art, and have the opportunity to talk with the artists without distractions, without feeling like they had to buy something. In addition to the curated art, we brought in some great cars to compliment our work—a genuine, real, aluminum bodied Cobra 427, an absolutely stunning Jaguar XK120 drophead couple, a very special Scarab MKII continuation car, and a replica Ferrari 250 that you would be hard pressed to tell from the real deal. 

There was food (excellent), drink, music, and great conversation including a short panel discussion where we each had the opportunity to express our artistic points of view as well as our individual motivation to create art. It was an altogether fabulous evening with friends both old and newly made. It was, in the words of Debra Pollack, “Like a secret garden you never wanted to leave.”

If you didn’t make it to our show last year, you’ll get another chance to see us and our art when we bring the Art House Collective back for Arizona Car Week 2027. We’ll be bringing new art, built around a new theme but with the same focus on creating the best possible environment to enjoy and appreciate the art of the automotive form.