Hot Rod Art Show Closes Sunday With Reception

The final day of a funky and eclectic hot rod art show, with pieces from more than 30 artists hailing from as far away as Japan, takes place Sunday at the MAC 650 Art Gallery, 650 Main St.

"The Art of Speed" Hot Rod & Kustom Culture Art Show closing reception runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a beer tasting sponsored by Narragansett Beer. All art is for sale, says co-curator Matt Firestone, and ranges in price from $1,000 to $20,000. He put together the collection with with Charlie Decker, aka The One-Arm Bandit.

Kustom Kulture is a coined term that references a lifestyle — fashion, hairstyles, hot rod and motorcycles — of people who drive, built and collect custom cars and bikes from the 1950s to today.

Firestone, 34, one of a 15-member fire crew at Pratt and Whitney Aircraft in East Hartford, said the idea of this show came to him two years ago. He called up friend and collaborator Decker. "I said, 'hey, man, I need you to send a piece of art to this art show,'" he recalls.

The most expensive piece, a minature hot rod pieced together over two to three years with found objects like a Singer sewing machine wheel (the steering wheel), a rusty old mailbox (the cab), metal eyeglass case (glove box), suitcase (seat backs) by Boston sculptor Michael Ulmann. It sits beside a tiny fully recreated motorcycle on a table at the center of the exhibit.

Firestone was the guest of WESU-FM's River Valley Rhythms last week, and spoke about the show with host Stephan Allison.

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