Last week, the worlds of contemporary art, automotive, hospitality, and design converged for the opening of “Permanent Impermanence,” an exhibition by New York-based artist Kozo, presented by CART Department at Free Parking. On view through May 24, the presentation, housed inside the West Village’s 19th-century carriage house turned gallery space, is anchored by a 1965 Ford Mustang Coupe—hand-painted by the artist with a reinterpretation of François Lemoyne’s The Apotheosis of Hercules, originally created for the Salon d’Hercule room at Versailles.
Ahead of the exhibition’s public opening, on Thursday, CART Department and Kozo co-hosted an intimate dinner celebrating the project alongside Daniel Winer and the cookware brand HexClad. Inside, an eclectic crowd of artists, collectors, designers, and tastemakers gathered to toast to the collaboration, including Larry Warsh, Mickalene Thomas, Futura, Eric Haze, Quil Lemons, Brie Welch, and Latham Thomas, among others.
“Permanent Impermanence” at CART Department
Kozo, installation view of “Permanent Impermanence” at CART Department. Courtesy of KOZO and CART Department.Kozo, installation view of “Permanent Impermanence” at CART Department. Courtesy of KOZO and CART Department.
Presented as part of CART Department’s ongoing Artist Garage series, “Permanent Impermanence” further positions cars as cultural objects capable of carrying narratives beyond transportation. Founded by collector and cultural entrepreneur Larry Warsh, CART Department continues to explore the intersection of automotive culture, contemporary art, and design through exhibitions that reframe cars as repositories of memory, identity, and craftsmanship. Following projects involving artists like Keith Haring and Ai Weiwei, Kozo’s presentation marks one of the platform’s most immersive exhibitions to date.
Inside Free Parking’s industrial interiors, guests were welcomed to pours of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, wine, and Hennessy cocktails before enjoying a multi-course dining experience by Chef Rōze Traore. Known for blending food with storytelling and immersive presentation, Traore crafted a menu that mirrored the exhibition’s layered dialogue. Courses included Yellowfin Crudo with pickled daikon and nori dust, Branzino with saffron beurre blanc and black truffles, and poached pears finished with hibiscus and goat cheese. Throughout the evening, HexClad cookware appeared in the service itself, becoming part of the event’s visual language centered on craft, materiality, and design.
Contemporary Culture: Art, Cars, Style, and Spirits
Kozo, installation view of “Permanent Impermanence” at CART Department. Courtesy of KOZO and CART Department.
The evening also reflected the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary cultural programming, where art exhibitions unfold as experiential environments. Jewelry by Sarah Ysabel Narici’s brand DYNE and rare casks of Hennessy were displayed throughout the gallery as sculptural objects alongside Kozo’s works, while Golden Goose created custom white Star Collection T-shirts exclusively for attendees. Designed in dialogue with the exhibition, the shirts featured Kozo’s recurring worker figures suspended from the brand’s iconic star motif, alongside hand-finished details by Golden Goose artisans. Guests also departed with curated gift bags featuring private aviation credits from FLYBLACK, underscoring the event’s merging of luxury, contemporary art, and luxury lifestyle culture.
An Art Car Beyond Its Painting
Kozo, installation view of “Permanent Impermanence” at CART Department. Courtesy of KOZO and CART Department.
At the center of “Permanent Impermanence” is Kozo’s exploration of transformation—both personal and material. Rooted in the immigrant experience and the act of constructing a new identity through labor and reinvention, the exhibition examines how human effort remains embedded within objects long after their creation. The 1965 Mustang, painted at Red Hook Detail Co., encapsulates this tension between permanence and impermanence by placing the grandeur of European classical painting onto one of America’s most iconic industrial forms. The result feels both reverential and disruptive: a collision of Old Master opulence with the mythology of the machine age.
The exhibition’s works surrounding the car extend these ideas through painting and mixed media. Originally trained as a tattoo artist, Kozo incorporates lithographic stencils, tattoo ink, graphite, acrylic, and embedded tattoo needles into a series of unique variants that blur distinctions between fine art, ritual, and process. Across the works, recurring phrases—including “I was created to create” and “The only way out is through”—serve as personal mantras that reinforce the artist and the exhibition’s core beliefs.
