Detroit's graphic content

These are the fantasies of vehicle designers that we usually only get to see at international motor shows. Now Detroit's finest motoring graphic artists are sending their finest works of motoring art around the world in a travelling exhibition that will hit Brisbane from this month.

Called Industrial Desire, the exhibition will feature models, drawings and film footage, Detroit's gothic beauty and iconic futuristic cars. With less than a few thousand car designers globally, it counts as one of the world's most competitive and secretive careers.

Show curator Leon Fitzpatrick, an Australian-born industrial designer who studied in Detroit, has picked the exhibition pieces from Detroit's College for Creative Studies, an international centre of excellence in transportation design.

"What we need out there are cars that ignite a sense of wonder, rather than the rolling appliances they have become," he says. "These models show there's no reason why cars can't be exciting, aesthetically pleasing and thoughtful all at the same time."

The show, which runs from June 10 to August 28 at Artisan Gallery in Fortitude Valley, features 10 quarter-scale models of fantastic concept vehicles including futuristic SUVs, muscle cars and cutting edge ecofriendly city cars. They are supported by original sketches and renderings, multimedia video, sketches, rendering and digital 3-D modelling.

"With the automotive industry on the verge of a massive shift it is timely to look at the creativity and optimism of the next generation of car designers," Fitzpatrick says. "Industrial Desire is a powerful, informative and inspirational experience for people of all ages, merging craft and design in a new and innovative way."

Another Australian link in the exhibition is Imre Molnar, Dean at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, who trained at the National Art School of Sydney in Australia and worked with the Australian Design Council. He has been a featured lecturer on strategic design management for businesses around the globe, including Nokia, NCR, Volkswagen, BMW, the Ford Motor Company and JETRO (Japanese External Trade Organisation), and at government symposia.