From the boiling, nitro-burning, pedal to the metal cauldron of 1950's-60's Southern California Hot Rod culture, gear heads and artists in the inland empire started building and racing rat rods morphing into the movement known today as Kustom Kulture.
Embodied by the likes of George Barris, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, Von Dutch and today the torch carried on by Robert Williams.
We at Lift Trucks are proud to present the works of Chris Machin. Steeped in pin striping, Tiki god carvings, Moon Equipment eyes, Mr. Horsepower (Woody Woodpecker with a cigar) and Rat Fink, Chris attacks everything he can get his hands on from Philco Predicta Television sets to wheel alignment lights, to car jacks, acetlyne burners and tool boxes.
Only somebody like Chris could transform a water fountain into a unique lamp, or take a shopping cart and make it a hot-rod bike. Nothing is off limits. His daily rides are usually brush painted wonders. The latest, a 66 Pontiac Bonneville station wagon, got the full treatment of striping to decals to a lit up monster waving arms as turn signals.
He is what’s known as an “outsider artist”. He is self-taught and his art certainly isn’t traditional.
You definitely can't miss Mr. Machin coming down the road.
You also can't miss the windows exhibit driving by New York's first and only Drive by Gallery.
How is that gallery going? Great, thanks for asking. Thousands cruise by every day.