Alpinestars is proud to be a part of the unique CELERITAS show, uniting motorcycle culture and art. Raising money and awareness for the Riders for Health organization, over seventeen artists contributed beautiful works of art, using motorcycle helmets, Alpinestars’ suits and a Suzuki Hayabusa as canvases. Curated by Nip Tuck’s John Hensley and Linkin Park’s Joe Hahn, CELERITAS (Latin for speed) is a show that communicates their passion for motorcycle culture as well as fine art and street art. Hahn and Hensley tapped the resources of world-class artists and motorcycle industry leaders to support the efforts of Riders for Health. In addition to participating as a sponsor, Alpinestars worked in conjunction with artist Dr. Romanelli by providing technical motorcycle apparel as a canvas for his contribution to the show. Using an Alpinestars racing suit, gloves and boots as a template and Mad Max as inspiration, Dr. Romanelli has deconstructed and reinterpreted the motorcycle suit. Works of art themselves, the racing suits of Alpinestars’ own team riders will also be on display including those of Casey Stoner, Ben Spies, Nicky Hayden and Troy Corser. Other legendary artists participating in the show include Barry McGee, Joe Hahn, Mike Shinoda, Mark Dean Veca, Audrey Kawasaki, Jim Lee, James Jean, Stash, Futura, Jesse James, Jeff McMillan, Alex Pardee, Troy Lee, Usugrow, Estevan Oriol and Nathan Cabrera. CELERITAS opened on July 11th and will be up for viewing at the Suru store until Aug. 13th. All proceeds from sales of the art will go directly to the Riders for Health foundation. ~http://www.alpinestars.com/~ ~http://www.suru-la.com/~ ~http://www.riders.org/~ ~http://www.drromanelli.com/~ More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: Cultures Collide for Charity: Fine Art Meets Motorcycling Rome, Georgia: The avant-garde art scene and motorcycle road racing culture come together at the Celeritas art exhibit at LA’s SURU Gallery, raising funds for the Riders for Health charity. On exhibit until August 16, the Celeritas show features 14 helmets painted by fine artists, a set of leathers reworked by DRx, and a Suzuki Hayabusa mounted on Pirelli tires and painted by artist Barry McGee. The show, sponsored by Pirelli, Suzuki, Alpinestars, Oakley, and Troy Lee Designs, opened Saturday night, July 11, with a silent auction of the artworks that raised $66,000 for the Riders for Health charity, the official charity of MotoGP, www.riders.org. Although the original artworks have been sold, all items will be on display for the duration of the exhibit, and Ts and other items relating to the show will be on sale until supplies run out. Of special interest to motorcyclists, helmet painter Troy Lee participated in the exhibit by prepping and clear-coating the helmets as needed, plus he donated a helmet of his own concept, showing a depth of originality that does all motorcyclists proud. The helmet that Lee created for this exhibit is a work of fine art on its own, and is something completely different from what anyone might have expected from a “helmet painter.” Pirelli congratulates John Hensley of the FX Channel’s Nip/Tuck and Joe Hahn of the band Linkin Park, for conceiving and curating this exhibit that has already proven to be exceptionally successful. Because of this mixing of subcultures, non-biker attendees are enthralled by the works of art and by the road racing leathers on display for an added touch of motorcycling culture. Many of them have to ask what these strange and colorful yet beautiful items of bizarre clothing are for, considering them to be peculiar works of art in themselves. The artists participating in the Celeritas exhibit are a who’s who of the current fine art scene: Alex Pardee, Jeff McMillan, Stash, Barry McGee (aka Twist, the artist who painted the Hayabusa and who is also featured on the cover of the latest issue [#14] of Swindle magazine), Futura, Mark Dean Veca, Usugrow, Joe Hahn, Jim Lee, Jesse James, Troy Lee, James Jean, Audrey Kawasaki, Darren Romanelli, aka DRx, Nathan Cabrera, Mike Shinoda, and Estevan Oriol. The SURU Gallery is located at 7662 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, California. The Celeritas exhibit is open through August 16. Pirelli Tire North America designs, develops, manufactures and markets tires for passenger vehicles in both the original equipment and replacement markets, as well as marketing tires for motorcycles and race cars. Located in Rome, Georgia, Pirelli’s Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) employs state-of-the-art technology to manufacture tires for both export and domestic markets. For more information please visit: www.us.pirellimoto.com.