West Midlands classic car blueprints reframed as contemporary art in motor show by French artist Alan Reullier at The Courtyard Gallery, Solihull.

At Solihull’s Courtyard Gallery, the region’s manufacturing history will be celebrated in a new, free exhibition of classic motor vehicle drawings, which have been reimagined as contemporary artworks by Alan Reullier.

Throughout his successful career, the French artist, sculptor and designer has collaborated with industrial and aerospace giants such as Dassault, Iveco and Faiveley Transport. For this major solo show, he has repurposed engineers’ drawings of some of the Midlands’ best loved classic car brands: Rover, Leyland, Land Rover Triumph, MGs and vintage Minis.

Due to be destroyed, he rescued hundreds of rare and original blueprints from The British Motor Museum via British Motor Heritage. Among them is the mechanical plan of a Land Rover, which Reullier has encircled with his own spontaneous black and white patterns.

Rather than drawing over the originals, Reullier has worked around their edges and in the gaps between cars’ parts, reclaiming negative space to create vibrant, imaginative originals.

Working in the margins, as an outsider artist of sorts, is reflective of Reullier’s own humble origins. As a teenager, his career started on the streets of northern Paris, where he spray-painted crumbling walls in his working-class neighbourhood.

To gain financial independence, the artist then joined both the French Navy and the Air Force, where he served for eleven years as a chief aircraft mechanic. This experience introduced him to a world of precision, innovation and design, while granting him privileged access to aircraft engine parts, tools and industrial artefacts, that have become central to his practice.

Reullier’s respect for the original technical designs is evident, as he creates a synchronicity between the original artistry and his inventive additions, respecting and preserving the talent of the original draughtsmen of the local Midlands motor industry.

Among the stories which he has included is that of the Peaky Blinders: the recognisable cast of characters, rendered in realistic terms and period costume, border a sleek 1940s car in ‘Legacy of Birmingham’. Once again, Reullier’s street art background is evident in the mural-like composition, which fans can buy as a limited-edition print.

He also draws inspiration from the Arte Povera and Readymade movements to produce stunning collections created from reclaimed industrial and natural materials.