Exhibit on Automobile and Motorcycle Painting Opens at Museum of Art

Painting of a boy washing a car with a water hose.

“LUSTER: Realism and Hyperrealism in Contemporary Automobile and Motorcycle Painting,” a national-touring exhibit showcasing the leading realist and hyperrealist artists renowned for their striking portrayals of motor vehicles, will open May 23, 2025, at the Las Cruces Museum of Art.

The exhibit runs May 23 through Aug. 16, 2025, at the Museum of Art, 491 N. Main St. and is accessible from Roadrunner Transit Route 1, Stop 1. The Museum of Art is open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. There is no admission fee.

An Artists Reception will be held from 5-7 p.m. Friday, June 6. The reception will feature an artist talk at 6 p.m. Guests will have the opportunity to meet featured artists and hear them talk about their work and creative process.

“LUSTER” showcases more than 55 paintings by nearly 15 of today’s leading realist and hyperrealist artists who specialize in paintings of vintage classics, up to contemporary automobiles and motorcycles.

Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, cars and motorcycles have been ubiquitous not only on the nation’s streets and highways, but also in music, film, and other visual art forms. With the emergence of photorealism in the 1960s, motor vehicles assumed a special place of distinction as subject matter in the iconography of American art that still prevails today.

Exhibiting artists include: A.D. Cook, Randy Ford, Allan Gorman, Marc G. Jones, Cheryl Kelley, Richard Lewis, Lory Lockwood, Robert Petillo, Kris Preslan, Joseph Santos, Ken Scaglia, John E. Schaeffer, Guenevere “Moto Painter” Schwien, and Harold Zabady. Their work exemplifies the very best in contemporary automotive art, building on the legacy of the first wave of photorealists of the 1960’s and 1970’s.

“LUSTER: Realism and Hyperrealism in Contemporary Automobile and Motorcycle Painting” is produced by David J. Wagner, LLC, David J. Wagner, Ph.D., Curator/Tour Director.

For more information visit the website the Museum of Art online or call (575) 541-2137, TTY 711.