Film Series by Elvis Mitchell for 'Jason Rhoades. DRIVE': CAR WASH

Hauser & Wirth is pleased to present ‘CRASH’, a car-centered film series curated by the film critic and writer Elvis Mitchell. This is the first in a series of public programs occasioned by the exhibition ‘Jason Rhoades. DRIVE’, a yearlong exploration of the art and legacy of California sculptor Jason Rhoades via the subject of cars and car culture.

The renowned host of KCRW radio’s ‘The Treatment’ Elvis Mitchell conducts weekly in-depth interviews with leading figures of film, television and art. He is the director of the 2022 documentary ‘Is That Black Enough for You?!?’ a history of Black cinema that focuses on the 1970s. Reflecting on his selection of films for CRASH and the work of Jason Rhoades, he writes:

'The twentieth century city, the twentieth century machine and the twentieth century artform that combined art, music and movement – Los Angeles, cars and the movies. LA is a sprawl of a city that, as topography, suggests a Jackson Pollock and cars traverse the city like brushes, like pastels, and movies love to…move, it makes all the sense in the world that each of these things both inspire and feed on each other. And all were a catalyst for the works of Jason Rhoades, who celebrated color, lines and motion in his works. With that in mind, we present a series of films – some of which gave Rhoades a specific kind of spark – to commemorate his fascination with art, cars and the movies: all manifestations of the American Dream.’

Mitchell will be present to introduce the series at the first screening, featuring Walter Hill’s 1978 classic ‘The Driver.’ Films will be shown in the exhibition gallery with viewers seated amongst the cars that Rhoades considered readymade works of art.

CRASH takes place over five consecutive Wednesdays, March 13 to April 10, 2024, and is free to the public.

Reservations are encouraged due to limited seating in the exhibition space.