Our passion for driving takes us down many roads to cross many others. This is what happened with us and Nelly Ruggeri, an Italian painter who has created a Collection of papiers collés inspired by the iconic cars of the 1920’s which has catapulted us onto the racing tracks of the pre-war period and persuaded us to welcome the fruits of her artistic creativity into our creations. In fact, from today, art collectors and lovers of motor racing legends can discover and buy her work To be Ernesto on our e-commerce The Outlierman.
We are well aware that the legends of the car world can inspire our driving experience, new projects, the way we dress and from today also our indoor environments thanks to these stylish creations designed to lend that refined touch to your house, office or catering establishment. In the new section of the website called DESIGN+ART you can find the work of artists, designers and creators that we feel connected to through fundamental and common values: the exclusivity of the ideas and creations, Italian quality and, naturally, the common passion for the world and history of cars.
Nelly Ruggeri struck us for her amazing ability to translate the pages of her very own family photo diary into designs and drawings, a family that has breathed the adrenalin of the race track since the beginning of the last century: her great grandfather Amedeo Ruggeri was a famous racing driver during the 1920’s and ‘30s, and today Nelly has immortalised in her artwork all the emotion, flavours and faces of that era from the past but which are still very much alive today.
To Be Ernesto (mixed media on canvas, 200x150 cm) is inspired by one of the great figures of Bologna, a city that saw the birth both of the artist and our brand. To Be Ernesto represents the famous car manufacturer Ernesto Maserati and one of his creations dated 1930. Maserati becomes a symbol in this work: the symbol of a family, of an era in which Italy was born, as well as industries and Italian excellence in the world.
In Ruggeri’s works, we find real attributes of the past, which include authentic newspapers and magazines of the 20’s, vehicles advertisements, lubricant for cars, tire and much more: all real and authentic evidence, which can still convey the thrill of those past lives.
The characters are not chosen by chance and they are not only relatives of the artist: they are eclectic and complex figures, expressing a great personality and looking like they to want to tell their story. Their black and white images become part of a complex symbolism which mixes to signs, color, black coal spirals, letters and hidden symbols to create a snapshot that can be set outside the time they live in.
Presence and essence of that driving passion and that inimitable Gentleman Driver style that never cease to inspire and that To be Ernesto represents completely. Find out about this and more in the section DESIGN+ART.
Photo credits: Federico Bajetti for The Outlierman © 2018
