As is tradition, 2018 Toyota Grand Prix (GPLB) officials announced this week the chosen artist whose work will appear on the official race poster, souvenir program and Fan Guide as well as other materials associated with the rip-roaring Long Beach event.
Longtime motor racing artist Hector Cademartori’s first official race poster in the U.S. was for the 1984 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and featured the #40 Indy car of then-driver Chip Ganassi, according to the GPLB.
Hailing from Buenos Aires, Argentina (where early championship Formula One racer Juan Manuel Fangio was a household name) Cademartori started out drawing Lotuses, BRMs and Ferraris in his school notepads, earning some admiration from his fellow students. He was first inspired by racing in the 60s, where drivers including Dan Gurney, Jackie Stewart, Pedro Rodriguez and Graham Hill dominated major circuits. Later on, Cademartori grew to appreciate the romance of racing, particularly regarding its history in the 30s, 40s and 50s.
“I just wanted to be in racing. I wasn’t a mechanic or a fabricator, or designer, or driver, or sponsor, so I used my artwork to be in the racing business,” Cademartori said in a statement. “I consider myself a racer with a brush. I hope this won’t disappoint those who follow my work, but I used my art to be around racing … my priority isn’t art but motor racing.”
Cademartori moved to the U.S. in 1983 to specialize in motor racing art and began selling drawings and paintings, displaying them to those in the motor racing and motorcycle fields. He has completed work for clients including racing teams, corporations, magazines as well as private commissions.
Cademartori has art in Dan Gurney’s All American Racers offices, Indy 500 yearbook covers, Lucas Oil, The Mitty, SVRA, La Carrera Panamericana of Mexico and Auto Club Speedway posters, national automobile and motorcycle magazines and book publishers, as well as manufacturers such as Kawasaki USA, American Honda, and Yamaha USA, Toyota Motorsports, TRD and many others.
The artist races his 240Z in two vintage racing associations and currently lives in La Verne with wife, Florencia. Learn more about his work here and the 2018 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach here.
Photos courtesy of the 2018 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.