GOMA planning motorbike mania for next summer

Forget about effete European art or worthy Australian fare next summer because the folks at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art have thrown caution to the wind and have decided to hold a major exhibition that no one saw that coming.

Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda in a scene from Easy Rider.

“GET your motor runnin’, Head out on the highway” at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) next summer.

And yes you will have the urge to start singing Steppenwolf’s motorbike anthem when you see the exhibition The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire which opens on November 28.

Arts Minister Leeanne Enoch today revealed our next summer blockbuster and it couldn’t be more unexpected.

Britten Motorcycle Company Ltd, Christchurch Britten V1000 motorcycle 1991, one of the bikes you will see at GOMA next summer

So why the hell are we getting this show?

“From Easy Rider to The Great Escape and Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2 motorcycles have been a mainstay of popular culture for decades and continue to provide endless fascination for millions of people around the world,” Ms Enoch says.

“The one of a kind exhibition at GOMA next summer is set to tap into the appeal of this iconic object of design and art through a thrilling and immersive installation experience that will not be shown anywhere else in the world.”

A scene from Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

If you like “smoke and lightning, Heavy metal thunder” (Steppenwolf again) you will love it although purists may ask themselves, quite rightly: what has all this got to do with art?

A German Megola 640cc Touring Model from 1922. Picture: Bonhams Auctioneers

QAGOMA director Chris Saines says the show will feature more than 100 motorcycles from the 1860s to the present day drawn from private and public collections across the globe.

“It includes the earliest 19 century steam-powered motorcycle right through to electric motorcycles and exciting design propositions for the future.

The Michaux-Perreaux steam velocipede 1869

“More than just a means of transport, the motorbike is a design object with forms and styles that reflect innumerable cultural and societal influences. We look forward to presenting this comprehensive survey of a universal machine designed to inspire freedom and escape through affordable mobility.”

A French Majestic 350 (1930). Picture: Olivier de Vaulx

The Motorcycle is curated by renowned design curators, physicist Professor Charles M. Falco and writer and filmmaker Ultan Guilfoyle in collaboration with QAGOMA.

There will be the usual public program, Up Late events, a hardcover publication and a specially curated film program

Can’t wait to see Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider again, how about you?

qagoma.qld.gov.au/themotorcycle