First-of-its-kind exhibit in Colorado Springs showcases custom car and motorcycle art

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- The Cottonwood Center of the Arts is hosting a new event called Cars and Stripes, which highlights 13 different artists across the nation that take part in "Kustom Kulture".

The Cottonwood Center for the Arts describes Kustom Kulture as "the zeitgeist of custom car and motorcycle culture that grew in popularity in the 1950s and continues today. Greasers, hot rodders, moonshiners, and psychobilly's are among the subcultures associated with this movement, and the style of artwork that developed alongside it is equally as diverse and iconic."

Those who attend the event can expect a wide variety of works ranging from pinstriping to portraiture, sign painting, illustration, and more.

The Director of Creation at the Cottonwood Center for the Arts, Jess Preble, said that she wanted to bring this type of art into a professional setting to showcase a style of art that many people don't usually see.

"I thought it would be an incredible experience for our community to see artwork that you would never expect to see in a formal gallery setting -- in a formal gallery setting," said Jess Preble.

Many of the artists at the event are pinstripers. Pinstriping is the application of a very thin line of paint or other material.

One of the local artists, Patrick Rau, is a local pinstriper. Rau said his dad built hot rods growing up, and he drew inspiration from seeing the artwork on cars. He said this is the first time he had his art displayed in a professional gallery setting.

"I was nervous at first, but it's pretty exciting, especially seeing how many people are interested. People had no idea that this type of art even existed," Rau said.

The Executive Director, Jon Khoury, says his goal is to give all artists a place to express their different art styles.

"A good part of the mission for Cottonwood Center for the Arts is helping identify artistic talent and giving people the opportunity to express themselves through their specific art, and in this case, it happens to be pinstriping and artistic visions for automobiles," Khoury said.

The Cars and Stripes event is happening for the whole month of July. The gallery will be open Monday through Thursday 10:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m.