If you’ve ever seen a lowrider – cars transformed to become as much a work of art as a mode of transportation – then you know they come with four wheels. Until now, that is. Thanks to the Espanola Lowrider Bike Club, two-wheeled bikes are getting the low rider treatment.
A Team-Effort
The club is a collaborative effort that brings together teens with artists and mentors who show them how to do everything from metalwork to intricate paint detailing. The results then go on display at The Spanish Colonial Art Society and each one is a wonder to behold.
Artist and Lowrider Bike Club mentor, Cruz Lopez worked with his son Zaiden on a bike adorned with a silver skeleton – a feat of engineering and art. The bikes are arranged throughout the John Gaw Meem-designed space with quotes from the kids who worked on them. Words like “patience,” “rewarding,” “technical,” “creativity,” and “challenging” popped up – testament to the skills the kids learned, their artistic expression, and the tenacity that they brought to the project.
Perhaps Jennifer Orozoco summed it up best: “Just because it seemed impossible for some kids to make something great, doesn’t mean they don’t have talent.”
Then, after looking at their work, I couldn’t agree more.
Story and Photography by Julia Platt Leonard
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