Our very own Gotryke.com contributor Lee Quinones takes on the Ford Flex.  Jean Jennings, Automobile Magazine Editor In Chief, sought out Lee to construct an art car with a distinct NYC flavor. After touring the country for a year at Ford Motor Company events, the iconic Lee Quinones “Only in New York” Ford Flex will be auctioned Oct. 10 at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Las Vegas, with all proceeds going toward charity.

While Lee is best known for his contemporary artwork and legendary status in the New York subway art movement, he’s also a die-hard drag racer, who tinkers under the hood of 1960s Detroit muscle in his spare time. This latest project is a match made for art car heaven, pairing an artist who takes auto bodies seriously, with a Flex, wrought with plenty of surfaces for interpretation.

Lee took delivery of the car on Sept. 3, 2008 at the Area Garage on Delancey Street in the heart of his native LES, blocks from the MTA layups he used to haunt in the 1970s and ‘80s. Armed with spray cans and poetic socio-politic vision, Lee undertook the commission  — to completely design and paint the car for SEMA 2008. In an assignment of serendipity, the garage soon became his secret laboratory with consecutive all-night painting sessions. We’re convinced the finished product is indeed an art car for the future lane – you’ll see cues of New York’s cultural glory days with images of clubs like the Roxy and CBGBs, which Lee frequented. (You might spot him along with Jean-Michel Basquiat and Fab Five Freddy rendering Blondie’s “Rapture” video from that era.)

Lee incorporates a needle and thread offset by a woman’s profile representing the energy of Fashion Avenue, and he captures the frenetic energy of current Wall Street turmoil, with a frazzled skater stockbroker whizzing by Manhattan taxis, depicted on the Flex hood.  The side panels integrate the classic New York City subway map with an abstract facade of the Brooklyn Bridge. A closer look at the Flex reveals Lee’s custom tagged Michelin tires – ready for Wild Style burnouts.

Look for Lee and Jean Jennings on the Barrett-Jackson auction stand, flexing for their respective charities that will split the profits  – Urban Arts Partnership for Lee and Juvenile Diabetes Foundation for Jennings.

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