Arsham motorsport: an Archive of Speed and Stillness
There’s something about a car that transcends its function — it’s at once a machine and a memory in motion, a sculpture that gathers meaning as it ages. For Daniel Arsham, whose work hovers between the materiality of the past and the possibilities of the future, the automobile is both an object of worship and a vehicle for artistic speculation. Over the years, the artist and designer has built an extensive body of work that pulls from the iconography of motorsport, from full-scale art cars to eroded relics, toy-sized collaborations with Mattel to garments that borrow the language of the racetrack. Now, the two-volume monograph published by ERG Media, gathers these works into a single compendium, as much a catalogue raisonné as it is a love letter to the car as an idea. Arsham Motorsport can be pre-ordered here.
product images © Useful Art Services
The Car as Canvas
Split into two volumes, Arsham Motorsport offers a bifocal view of Daniel Arsham’s diverse automotive work. The first focuses on the custom cars he has built, not just as aesthetic exercises but as fully realized vehicles, engineered to be driven. The artist‘s collaborations with major automotive brands have produced one-off interpretations of iconic models, reimagined through his distinctive lens.
The second volume turns inward, displaying his now-signature ‘Eroded’ series — vehicles that appear unearthed from a distant future, their forms dissolving into stone and crystal, as if frozen mid-decay. Together, the two volumes articulate Arsham’s central preoccupation — the tension between permanence and ephemerality, between what is built to last and what is destined to disintegrate.
Arsham Motorsport is a two-volume book exploring Daniel Arsham’s automotive artworks
The Intimacy of Process
Designed with the same precision that Daniel Arsham brings to his sculptures, Arsham Motorsport is itself an artifact worth preserving. Volume 1 is adorned with an image of the Stone Island Porsche 911 Safari in motion, while Volume 2 bears a close-up of the Eroded 992-generation Porsche 911 — two sides of Arsham’s vision: one kinetic, the other archaeological. Encased in a collectible slipcase embossed with Arsham’s signature green graphics, the book is as much an object of desire as the cars within its pages.
Accompanying the images is a rare glimpse into Arsham’s studio practice. Through the lens of Thomas Walk, ERG Media’s art director, we see the artist’s methodical process — the research, the meticulous modeling, the material experimentation that transforms concept into form. The book unpacks the engineering behind his automotive sculptures, revealing that they are not merely aesthetic interventions but exercises in craftsmanship and technical rigor. Arsham’s cars are not just looked at; they are made to be understood.
the book captures Arsham’s fascination with cars as both functional machines and artistic relics
‘After more than two years of work, I’m beyond excited to announce the release of my first-ever two-volume book, documenting all of my automotive projects — both sculptural and functional,’ writes Daniel Arsham on instagram.
‘This monumental 688 page book captures the full creative process behind these cars, from concept to completion, and reflects my passion for the automotive world — a journey that has taken me from museum exhibitions like the Orange County Museum of Art to iconic automotive events like Goodwood and The Bridge.’
Porsche art car by Daniel Arsham and Team Ikuzawa | read here
Volume 1 focuses on bespoke automobiles created through collaborations with major brands
