386: Heidi Mraz at Waterworks - When Car Culture Becomes Fine Art
About this episode
Heidi Mraz joins the Collector Car Podcast to discuss her captivating art exhibit at Waterworks Visual Art Center, which explores the intersection of car culture and fine art. Featuring five renowned artists, the exhibit showcases unique pieces inspired by automotive history, including the stories behind missing cars like the Aston Martin DB5 and Bugatti Atlantic. Mraz emphasizes the narrative aspect of her work, using various mediums to convey the emotions and tales associated with iconic vehicles. The conversation highlights the importance of appreciating cars as art and the creativity within the automotive community.
This week I step inside Waterworks Visual Arts Center in Salisbury, NC to experience Heidi Mraz's immersive automotive art exhibit. Heidi transforms fragments—vintage brochures, race maps, workshop notes, paint chips—into large-scale portraits that feel alive with motion and memory. We talk process (from research to layering and collage), the stories hidden in each build sheet and body panel, and why car culture belongs on museum walls as much as it does on concours lawns. If you love the smell of old manuals, the poetry of patina, or the way a great road trip rearranges your brain, you'll be right at home in this episode.
Show links:
• Waterworks Visual Arts Center — Salisbury, NC
• Artist: Heidi Mraz
This episode is sponsored by our friends at California Car Cover — my go-to source for custom-fit car covers and detailing gear. They've protected both my '66 GTO and Porsche Boxster S, and I trust them to keep your collector car safe, too.
#HeidiMraz #WaterworksVisualArtsCenter #SalisburyNC #AutomotiveArt #CarCulture #CollageArt #MuseumExhibit #CollectorCars #ArtExhibit #FineArt #CarDesign #CarStories #AutomotiveHistory #ArtAndCars
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Porsche 917
"...f the Collector Car Podcast, 1,000 butterflies in 917s, wrecked Bugattis being raised from European lake..."
Aston Db5S
"... raised from European lakes, missing Aston Martin DB5s and $150 million Bugatti Atlantics, and giant key..."
Pontiac Gto
"Your car deserves the best. That's why my Pontiac GTO and Porsche Boxster S are wrapped in California c..."
Porsche Boxster
"...s the best. That's why my Pontiac GTO and Porsche Boxster S are wrapped in California car covers. Since 198..."
Jaguar XK120
"...ion just by looking at them. I noticed the Jaguar XK120 or so and obviously a Ferrari Formula One car her..."
Porsche 911
"There are Ruby Star. And you can see these little 9-11s. It's designed in a way."
3 Three Wheeler
"So it's like a Woody. It's a three wheeler. It has a transmission from a Harley Davidson."
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