Motorcyclist contribute to benefit Riders For Health

Actor John Hensley and Linkin Park’s Joe Hahn recently hosted the opening of "Celeritas," an art exhibition at SURU Gallery in Hollywood. The exhibition, which runs through August 16, was conceived to bring both fine and street art to the public through motorcycle culture and to raise money for Riders for Health, an international aid organization. Hensley and Hahn engaged a group of renowned artists to transform 13 motorcycle helmets, motorcycle leathers, and a Suzuki Hayabusa sport bike into a unique body of work.

"It was really special for Joe and I to see a concept come to reality, and to see so many people from different walks in the same room, on the same night, for basically the same reason, was especially gratifying," notes Hensley. "This show would have absolutely not been possible without the creative contributions of all involved, from the artists, from SURU, and from our sponsors. All in all it’s made for a pretty cool experiment that we’re looking forward to doing again next year."

Representing the intersection of art, culture and motorcycling, Celeritas brings together a well-known group of artists: Barry McGee, Joe Hahn, Mike Shinoda, Mark Dean Veca, Audrey Kawasaki, Jim Lee, James Jean, Stash, Futura, Hot Dog (for Jesse James), Jeff McMillan, Alex Pardee, Troy Lee, Usugrow, Estevan Oriol, Nathan Cabrera, and Dr. Romanelli. These artists, whose canvases span wood panels to couture to subway trains to museum installations, have chosen elements from motorcycle racing culture as their medium for this exhibition.

The exhibition has raised over $65,000 for Riders for Health, www.riders.org, an organization that provides motorcycles, and maintenance training to aid workers in Africa who deliver medical attention to remote populations. Show sponsors include Pirelli, Suzuki, Alpinestars, Oakley and Troy Lee Designs. Motorcycle helmets were provided by Discover Today’s Motorcycling, with support from Shoei and Arai.

Although the artwork has been sold, all items will remain on display for the duration of the exhibit, and related T-shirts and limited-edition prints by Estevan Oriol will be on sale while supplies last. Celeritas is open to the public at SURU (7662 Melrose Ave., LA, 90046) until August 16. High-res images of the artists and artwork are available at www.rockmoto.com/community/celeritas.

Discover Today’s Motorcycling, the communications service bureau of the Motorcycle Industry Council, is a leading resource for information about two-wheeling for the media and general public. DTM is funded by the American-based operations of Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki and is supported by more than 300 MIC member companies.


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