By James Kent
Woodstock-based artist Pietro Landi is gearing up for the next phase of his BMW-RAV Art Car project, transforming his 2012 Toyota RAV4 into a bold, Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars-inspired creation. Drawing inspiration from BMW’s renowned Art Car series—where artists like Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol have turned race cars into canvases—Landi is taking the concept in a new direction by modifying a non-BMW vehicle, blending pop art with automotive culture.
A playful challenge to brand perception
The first phase of Landi’s car transformation involved integrating a BMW grille into the front of the RAV4, an experiment in visual perception.
“There’s a whole history of this BMW sort of Art Car project and a lot of the big pop artists—like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Calder—have painted a car for BMW,” Landi explained. “When I saw that this BMW grille would sort of fit perfectly in the front of the RAV4 grille, it’s like almost the exact same height. So I was able to splice it in, and it’s sort of this investigation of how we just perceive the world. Everyone sees the grille and the badge, BMW, and they don’t even question that the headlights are wrong, the wheels are wrong—like, there’s no BMW with a tire on the back ever that I know of.”
Landi is preparing to paint the other side of the car orange and add custom wheel covers, a roof rack, and a rear spoiler.
“The basic design direction is to look like a scaled-up Matchbox or Hot Wheels car,” he said.
A public art project in motion
Landi describes the car as a sculpture for the community, an interactive piece meant to bring joy and curiosity to people of all ages.
“This is definitely much more for, like, the kids’ enjoyment than the adults that are just kind of stuck in their little grown-up world worrying about politics,” he said. “Every single kid that sees it will, like, tug on their parents’ shirt and point at it, you know, because it’s just a fun thing.”
The car is frequently parked in the Bridgewater Mill parking lot along Route 4 in Bridgewater. Landi operates his Gallery studio space on the second floor of the Mill, where he works as a residential architect while also showcasing his own artwork and a collection of street art from New York City. He recently held his first solo show in New York, featuring a series of mixed-media works he began during the pandemic.
Locals interested in seeing Landi’s work can visit his gallery at the Bridgewater Mill or follow the project on pietrolandigallery.com. He is also relaunching his La Birdoj website this spring, featuring bold, graphic T-shirts inspired by street art and pop culture that people can purchase.
With warm weather approaching, Landi expects to complete the next phase of the BMW-RAV Art Car by midsummer. Until then, keep an eye out for his one-of-a-kind creation cruising through Vermont—bringing art to the streets, one paint stroke at a time.
