Local artist Alan Walsh has unveiled his latest exhibition, ‘Extraordinary Automotive’, during Monaco’s busy motorsporting month. The works celebrate the contours, colours and excitement of car racing, a topic that is dear to the heart of this celebrated British artist.
The ‘Extraordinary Automotive’ collection was revealed in a spectacular launch party at the Prince’s Car Collection museum (Collection de Voitures de S.A.S. le Prince de Monaco) on 24th April. More than 200 guests gathered to admire the art that was displayed on walls above iconic vehicles like Charles Leclerc’s SF90 Ferrari from the 2019 F1 season.
“The idea was to host an event that was more than an art exhibition, and more of an automotive celebration, so we needed a venue with some space and wow factor to do that. The Prince’s Car Collection will take some beating,” Alan Walsh tells Monaco Life. “The guests really enjoyed not only viewing the art but also browsing the iconic cars. There is a photo of one of my paintings next to the original Silver Arrows Mercedes, which is a personal favourite, and a painting of Fangio above his car.”
Instantly recognisable for their bold, vibrant and uncluttered style, the works of Alan Walsh have become a huge hit in the French Riviera. Since 2020, Walsh has been the resident artist of the legendary Cannes hotel, The Martinez.
The artist’s works hang on the walls of royalty, movie stars, chart-topping musicians and global sports stars, and the Walsh Gallery Monaco is a homage to his philosophy on life: “Don’t over complicate; keep things as clean and simple as possible.”
In addition to his love of cars, derived from his family’s dedication to motorsports, Walsh says he draws enormous inspiration from the French and Italian Rivieras, like so many artists that have come before him.
“The colours of the Riviera skies certainly feature heavily, as do bold blocks of colour with little touches of gold to add glamour,” explains Walsh. “The backgrounds of the Italian cars are a little busier than my normal works; these came from a trip to Italy with my wife Emily and visiting vintage Italian clothes stores to see 90s Versace and Gucci patterns. A little bit of humour is included to bring a smile to peoples’ faces, like the giant canvas with a tiny car in the middle, a Fiat 500, and a dog next to a Lamborghini outside a gelato shop.”
Alongside the art works displayed on the walls of the Prince’s Car Collection were a Monaco Art Edition Land Rover defender, which Alan Walsh designed with Vault from the UK, and a brand new Monaco Art edition E-Bike designed in collaboration with Monaco based company HPS, the lightest E Bike in the world.
The ‘Extraordinary Automotive’ collection is now on display at the Walsh Gallery Monaco, 45-47 Rue Grimaldi, from 10.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Saturday.
We really enjoyed the exhibition. See more of the launch event in our Instagram video below…
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Main photo by Monaco Life