The traditional art car has long led a sedentary life, trapped behind velvet ropes or securely tucked away in climate-controlled private collections. Typically commissioned, photographed once, and admired as a static sculpture, these modified vehicles rarely experience the open road. However, cultural entrepreneur Larry Warsh is challenging that convention through his latest venture, dispatching a fleet of six rolling artworks directly into the bustling traffic of the British capital.
Timed to coincide with the prestigious Frieze art fair, a groundbreaking collaborative project titled "A World Within" takes over the streets of London throughout the month of October. Spearheaded by the CART Department—Warsh’s pioneering platform dedicated to exploring the intersections of automotive engineering, contemporary art, and pop culture—the initiative covers six of The Peninsula London’s signature vehicles in an original, continuous composition designed by the acclaimed Brooklyn-based artist KOZO.
The extraordinary fleet includes two Rolls-Royce Phantoms, a Bentley Bentayga, a BMW i7, an electrified Austin taxi, and an LEVC electric vehicle. Together, these six distinct luxury and service automobiles form the Peninsula’s very first art fleet. Rather than acting as disparate pieces, the exterior wrap reads as a single, unified work of art that spans all six vehicles. Crucially, these cars will not sit idle on display pedestals. Instead, they remain fully integrated into the hotel’s daily operations, available for guests to book throughout the entire month. This unique setup transforms the traditional gallery model inside out, placing the public directly inside the artwork as it navigates the busy streets of London.
Redefining the Boundaries of Art and Automotive Design
Larry Warsh established the CART Department on the foundational philosophy that a modern automobile has transcended its utilitarian purpose to become a legitimate sculptural and conceptual art object. Over the years, the CART Department’s expansive collection has grown to include more than 70 one-of-a-kind art cars featuring contributions from towering figures in modern and contemporary art, such as Keith Haring, Barbara Kruger, Jenny Holzer, Lawrence Weiner, Rashid Johnson, and Olafur Eliasson.
By welcoming KOZO into this prestigious lineage, the initiative bridges the worlds of high contemporary art and tattoo innovation. KOZO has garnered international acclaim for his micro-realism tattoo artistry, a meticulous style that has fundamentally reshaped both the tattoo community and the broader fine-art landscape. Translating this intricate aesthetic onto the complex, curved surfaces of luxury automobiles presented a distinct creative challenge.
Over a rigorous three-month development period, KOZO conceived and executed the overarching visual narrative. The creative process began with detailed digital sketches laid directly over photographs of each specific vehicle model. Once finalized, the complex graphics were fabricated into premium vinyl wraps by the expert technicians at Topaz, the official detailing partners for The Peninsula London.
"A car is not a blank white canvas; this project forced me to translate my language as a painter and tattoo artist onto a moving vessel," KOZO explains. He notes that every individual model presented its own set of structural parameters, from the curves of the body panels and the geometry of the hood, trunk, and doors to minor hardware elements like side reflectors. "Working with its existing colour, its curves, the shape of the hood, trunk and doors, and even small details like the side reflectors, all influenced my design choices. Every one of those must be accounted for and, ideally, worked into the composition rather than fought against."
Merging Past, Present, and British Heritage
The visual narrative of "A World Within" is striking and deeply layered. KOZO’s designs create the optical illusion of torn paper, as if the hotel’s signature staff—known as the Peninsula Pages—are physically peeling back the outer skin of each vehicle to reveal an idyllic British landscape hidden underneath.
Rich vistas featuring rolling parkland, grazing livestock, and stately historic homes emerge in nuanced shades of green and ochre. These natural tones subtly echo Peninsula Green, while weaving in iconic brand motifs such as the hotel’s Guardian Lions and prominent London landmarks like the nearby Wellington Arch. The three-dimensional, pastoral landscapes stand in sharp contrast to the flatter, monochrome depictions of the Peninsula Pages. Rendered in clean outlines that nod directly to traditional tattoo-flash graphic styles, these human figures maintain a clear visual separation from the historical scenes they are uncovering.
"The collection brings past and present into conversation, creating unexpected juxtapositions that allow history and myth to feel alive again, inviting the viewer to become part of the story, quite literally, by journeying within the Art Fleet," KOZO observes. Through this ingenious visual conceit, the rich heritage and history of The Peninsula London literally ripple across the exterior of cars that remain in active, daily service.
A Century-Long Legacy of Automotive Excellence
For Larry Warsh, the partnership with The Peninsula London represents a natural alignment rooted in shared history. The hotel group’s relationship with the automotive world spans nearly a century, famously dating back to a historic, record-setting order of Rolls-Royce Phantoms placed in Hong Kong decades ago.
"The Peninsula London felt like the natural partner because of who they are at their core, with an incredible history and heritage that’s actually rooted in cars," Warsh remarks. He points to the physical architecture and curation of the Belgravia property as tangible evidence of this enduring passion, noting the remarkable car-themed restaurant located on the hotel’s eighth floor named Brooklands, which celebrates motoring history with exceptional taste.
Warsh’s own collaborative history with the Peninsula brand predates the current art fleet initiative, having previously arranged to showcase a David Hockney BMW art car at the property—an early spark that ultimately planted the seeds for the ambitious project seen on London’s streets today. For Warsh, the completion of the fleet feels like a natural coming-full-circle moment.
"Most art cars, people can’t ride in. They’re restrictive, sculptural objets, but now we’re creating something people can ride in style and elegance, synchronistic with Peninsula’s values," Warsh notes.
Bridging Communities Through Public Art
At the heart of the project lies a core commitment to accessibility and public engagement. Warsh views the automobile as a powerful mobile medium capable of carrying contemporary art far beyond the insular confines of traditional museums, galleries, and art fair booths.
"Cars are a great bridge between various audiences, and we can teach art with cars," Warsh explains. By launching the fleet during Frieze week—a period when international collectors, critics, and art enthusiasts flood the city—the project places world-class conceptual work directly in front of the crowds most primed to appreciate it, while simultaneously surprising everyday commuters and city residents.
"We are trying to bring art to non-art audiences and tapping into various audiences, and this is a good example of that," he adds.
Throughout the month of October, the six wrapped vehicles will continue traversing the streets of London, operating entirely outside the sterile confines of an exhibition booth. By offering an immersive experience that merges high-end hospitality, automotive luxury, and contemporary artistic vision, "A World Within" successfully recontextualizes what an art car can be. For the fortunate guests who book a ride, the traditional boundaries dissolve entirely: the art car is no longer merely something to look at from afar, but a moving gallery you can step inside.
