The Art Basel show has a tendency to shine a light on undiscovered artists to give them a chance to become internationally recognized. Most recently, the Art Basel show was held in Hong Kong, featuring many sculptures and installations, one of which being the Beetle Sphere: a 1953 Volkswagen Beetle compressed into a large, yellow ball.
Courtesy of Ichwan Noor
This iconic car, known by every kid who’s ever had road-trip bruises up and down their arms, was balled up by Indonesian artist Ichwan Noor. Noor, a Jakarta based artist, is not unfamiliar working with automobiles. The Beetle Sphere displayed in the Mondecor Jakarta Gallery booth at Hong Kong is only one of a set of five compressed Volkswagen Beetles, which range from spherical to cubical.
Courtesy of Ichwan Noor
These attention-grabbing orbs are 180cm3 and are a product of Noor’s personal perception towards objects of the “transportation culture.” Beetle Sphere sits precariously in its display due to its redefined shape; it was created out of junk parts from 1953 models of Volkswagen Beetles, combined with polyester and aluminum, and then painted and shined up to look hot-off-the-press.
This sculpture was sold almost instantly for $88,000, according to the Japan Times. Search for the Beetle Sphere on My Modern Met, This Is Colossal.com, Juxtapoz, Mashable, Twisted Sifter, and The Verge.com to see it for yourself!
