The Petersen Museum New Exhibit Pays Tribute to the Lowrider

The Petersen Automotive Museum is giving lowrider culture a turn in the spotlight.

The Los Angeles cultural institution is currently hosting an exciting exhibit called “Best in Low: Lowrider Icons of the Street and Show.” The show, which runs through next spring, attempts to show how the culture has advanced over the decades and expanded outside of Southern California.

Lowrider culture was born out of Southern California’s post-war car scene. The region’s hot rodders wanted to go fast, lowriders were focused on going low and slow so that their cars could be seen. These custom automobiles—known for their lush paint jobs, ornate decorations, and hydraulic systems—were canvases on which they could express themselves. The culture first took hold in SoCal’s Chicano communities but has grown to include Black and Asian Americans, as well as other cultural groups. Its reach has also expanded outside the region, spreading to other parts of the U.S. Southwest and as far away as Japan.

“Best in Low” isn’t the Petersen’s first low-rider exhibit, but it is its largest and most comprehensive. As such, the show, which fills the museum’s Mullin Grand Salon, features some of the most famous lowrider cars and motorcycles of all time, like “Gypsy Rose,” the 1964 Chevrolet Impala that was the first lowrider added to the National Historic Vehicle Registry. Visitors will also get to see the 1936 Ford Pickup named “Trokita Loca,” 1968 Cadillac Eldorado Fleetwood better known as “Helldorado,” and a 1968 Schwinn Stringray dubbed “Casino Dreamin.” The exhibit will also show how these automotive wonders are built, as well as feature works from some of the most influential artists and photographers from the Chicano Art Movement.

“This Lowrider exhibit will be a new chapter exploring the craftsmanship of lowriders and the impact of this culture on the customization scene,” guest curator Dr. Denise Sandoval said in a statement. “We will also highlight the diversity of the culture through the region for the first time, including cars and motorcycles from Northern California, New Mexico, Texas, Brazil, France, and Japan, as well as feature cars owned and worked on by women.”

“Best in Low” opened earlier this May and will run through April of next year. Tickets, which start at $12 for children and $21 for adults, are available now through the museum’s website.

Click here for more photos of “Best in Low: Lowrider Icons of the Street and Show.”

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