The traditional art car has long lived a sheltered life, typically sequestered behind velvet ropes in museums, private galleries, or climate-controlled collections. Commissioned, photographed once, and admired statically, these rolling sculptures rarely experience the open road for which automobiles were originally engineered. However, cultural entrepreneur Larry Warsh has spent years gathering these rare, boundary-pushing objects with a singular mission: to liberate them from static display and send them back out into the pulse of everyday traffic.
This philosophy finds its latest manifestation in "A World Within," a sweeping public art initiative on view across London throughout October, deliberately timed to coincide with the prestigious Frieze art fair. For this ambitious project, Warsh’s CART Department has collaborated with The Peninsula London and acclaimed Brooklyn-based artist KOZO to transform six of the luxury hotel’s signature vehicles into a unified, moving canvas.
The extraordinary fleet features a carefully curated mix of ultra-luxury transport and modern eco-conscious engineering. Included in the project are two Rolls-Royce Phantoms, a Bentley Bentayga, a BMW i7, an electrified Austin taxi, and an LEVC electric vehicle. Together, these six distinct automobiles carry a single, continuous composition designed by KOZO, functioning as the Peninsula’s very first dedicated art fleet. Rather than sitting idle on a showroom floor, every single vehicle remains in active service throughout the month, available for hotel guests to book. Consequently, a rolling gallery continuously traverses the streets of London, carrying members of the public inside the very artwork itself.
Redefining the Automobile as a Conceptual Canvas
Larry Warsh established the CART Department on the foundational premise that an automobile can transcend its utilitarian identity to become a powerful sculptural and conceptual medium. By viewing cars through the lens of contemporary art, Warsh has assembled a staggering collection of more than 70 one-of-a-kind art cars featuring contributions from legendary figures such as Keith Haring, Barbara Kruger, Jenny Holzer, Lawrence Weiner, Rashid Johnson, and Olafur Eliasson.
By inviting KOZO into this elite lineage, the project welcomes an artist whose pioneering approach to micro-realism has fundamentally reshaped both the contemporary fine-art landscape and the world of modern tattooing. Known for his intricate compositions and striking visual storytelling, KOZO faced a unique creative challenge when tasked with wrapping six entirely different vehicle models with a cohesive narrative.
The resulting design is an optical illusion that reads as a delicate paper tear. The iconic Peninsula Pages—depicted in clean, monochrome outlines reminiscent of traditional tattoo-flash graphics—appear to be physically peeling back the outer skin of each vehicle. Beneath this surface layer lies a vibrant, idyllic British landscape. Lush parklands, grazing animals, and stately homes emerge in rich shades of green and ochre that subtly echo the hotel’s signature Peninsula Green. Threaded throughout the pastoral scenes are nods to London’s architectural heritage, including the Guardian Lions and the historic Wellington Arch.
This juxtaposition creates a deliberate dialogue between past and present. The flatter, graphic figures of the hotel pages uncovering the landscape stand in stark contrast to the rich, three-dimensional depth of the pastoral scenery beneath. According to KOZO, the installation aims to make history and myth feel alive again, inviting observers and passengers alike to become active participants in the narrative by journeying directly within the rolling artwork.
Translating Fine Art to Complex Automotive Surfaces
Developing the installation required an intricate technical and artistic process that spanned three months. KOZO began by creating digital sketches laid directly over precise photographs of each vehicle model. The finished digital artwork was then expertly fabricated into high-grade vinyl wraps by the detailing specialists at Topaz, working in close collaboration with The Peninsula London.
Adapting a fine-art style to the complex contours of luxury automobiles presented a formidable test. Unlike a flat canvas or a sheet of paper, an automobile introduces radical curves, volumetric proportions, functional hardware, and unique body lines that must be navigated with absolute precision.
Reflecting on the technical hurdles of the commission, KOZO notes that a car is never a blank white canvas. Translating his distinct visual language as a painter and tattoo artist onto a moving vessel required him to account for every architectural nuance of the vehicles. The existing color schemes, sweeping hood shapes, trunk proportions, door panels, and even minor functional elements like side reflectors directly influenced his design choices. Rather than fighting against these structural realities, the artist skillfully integrated them into the overarching composition, ensuring the intricate narrative remained sharp, legible, and striking even when the vehicle was traveling at speed through London traffic.
A Century-Long Heritage Rooted in the Automobile
The partnership between CART Department and The Peninsula London is rooted in a shared historical appreciation for the automobile. The luxury hospitality brand’s relationship with motoring spans nearly a century, famously originating from a monumental, record-setting order of Rolls-Royce Phantoms in Hong Kong.
For Warsh, this deep-seated automotive heritage made the luxury hotel group an ideal collaborator. He notes that the property’s reverence for motoring culture is evident throughout the building, pointing specifically to the eighth floor, which houses a meticulously designed car-themed restaurant celebrating the brand’s historic ties to transport. Warsh’s personal history with the hotel group also laid the groundwork for the current collaboration, having previously arranged to showcase a David Hockney BMW art car at a Peninsula property—an experience that planted the initial seed for the current fleet.
By bringing the project to life in London during Frieze, the initiative bridges the gap between high art and everyday public life. Warsh emphasizes that automobiles serve as an exceptionally effective medium for introducing contemporary art to broader demographics who might not otherwise visit traditional galleries or museums. By placing world-class art directly onto vehicles utilized by an international clientele and general onlookers alike, the project uses the city streets as its primary exhibition space.
Throughout October, "A World Within" remains entirely accessible to anyone who books a ride in one of the six specially wrapped vehicles. By transforming functional transport into a dynamic, rolling exhibition, Larry Warsh and KOZO have redefined the traditional boundaries of the art car, proving that contemporary sculpture does not need to remain locked behind a rope to be appreciated.
