Go to enough hot rod gatherings and you’ll certainly run into Max Grundy's art. His distinctive style is unmistakable—high contrast lines, stark colors, and an overwhelming sense of dread.
Grundy describes himself as “a lowbrow-culture automotive artist.” His work intersects the car world and southern California's unique identity. “Tattoos, graffiti, hot rods, lowriders, kustom cars, and all the cultural elements that surround them," Grundy explained. “They all get grouped into lowbrow or pop surrealism.”
Grundy grew up in Utah. He remembers as a child always having pencil and paper on hand. Grundy recently celebrated the 10-year anniversary of relinquishing his job as an art teacher, moving to Los Angeles, and becoming a full-time artist.
Grundy’s artistic talents extend beyond paper and canvas and into his own cars. He builds the types of vehicles represented in his artwork, customizing them with elements from his illustrations. His 1950 Chevy COE was sold on eBay Motors in 2016. If you look closely at the seats, you’ll notice familiar themes.
The image of a gas mask can be seen in its gauges and on its stake bed floor. “I'm interested in these sort of masked figures in my artwork,” he said. “It's an icon of fear. People are drawn to the mysterious figure that's the next looming threat.”
Beyond Simple Representation
Often so-called automotive art is simply a two-dimensional depiction of a car. It may take great skill to create, but your response doesn’t go much further than, “Yes, that's what a Ferrari looks like.” On the other hand, Grundy creates worlds. The cars in his illustrations are chased by UFOs, speeding past ominous smokestacks, or escaping into the desert as a mushroom cloud rises in the background.
Grundy defines his style as retrofuturism. Sources of inspiration run the gamut, from wartime propaganda posters to old comic book covers and vintage movie posters. "But it has a very futuristic edge,” Grundy warned. “There's contemporary subject matter in them."
While there is a lot of fear in Grundy's work—conveyed by such images as killer robots and bombers flying in formation, there is also an undeniable playfulness and humor. It's that contrast that makes his work so much fun. Sometimes, the cars appear as if they’re jumping off the paper and escaping to the open road.
This article was originally published on March 08, 2016.
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