Here's something truly unique. This 1991 Harley Davidson Evo Softail, a fine motorcycle in its own right, has been given a custom paint job by famous contemporary artist Didier Chamizo. While serving prison sentences for far-left armed groups and bank robberies, Chamizo used painting as an escape. He launched a prison magazine, set up art workshops for other inmates, and painted a 30-meter mural inside a prison tunnel. His incredible talent eventually caught the eye of major figures, including Alain-Dominique Perrin, the Founder and President of the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art. Upon release, Chamizo was officially granted a full presidential pardon by French President François Mitterrand in January 1993, allowing him to fully commit to his international art career.

His work is often includes caricatures and satire, and this Harley Davidson is surely among his most unusual works. It was a centrepiece of Chamizo's 'Rebel Soul' exhibition, and was painted to celebrate his love of the British punk rock scene.

"So, on the Harley Davidson, initially, my friends at the Dirty Cats motorcycle workshop wanted to customize a Harley that told a bit of my story…for example, the engine is a 1991 Harley Evo model (the year I was released from prison), and the styling is inspired by the ’60s and ’70s, which were the years of my youth before my incarcerations. So they gave me Punk-Rock as a theme, because it’s the British music I love, and the Rebel Soul exhibition is in England of course! So from then on, the Punk period included singers like the Sex Pistols and the Clash. It was also a period of Rock’n’Roll that was very destructive. So when we talk about Rock’n’Roll, and especially Punks, we can’t avoid beer, alcohol and various drugs. I depicted Amy Winehouse on the side of the bike. Amy was a great singer whose life was unfortunately cut short due to various excesses."

- Artist Didier Chamizo talking to FAD Magazine in June 2024

The vendor provides the following detail:

Didier Chamizo spent 17 years in prison, serving time for armed bank robberies and arms trafficking, and was eventually pardoned by President François Mitterrand. While incarcerated, he fought legal battles against the French Ministry of Culture for his right to access painting materials, and later worked with the Ministry to improve cultural access for inmates. While in prison, he created a prison-tunnel mural (linking the prisons of Saint-Paul and Saint-Joseph) around 1988-1989, which is now classified as an historic monument due to his work. Today, he is a laureate whose work has been shown internationally, a board member involved in the oversight and reform of French prisons, and one of the only artists to have developed a career while behind bars. Chamizo was discovered in prison by Alain-Dominique Perrin (CEO of Cartier 1975-1998, President/founder of the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art, and major patron of contemporary artists), who recognised his extraordinary talent.

Together, Dirty Cats and Chamizo unveiled a 1970s-style chopper covered in his own interpretations of the British rock ’n’ roll legends he loves, created for his UK debut exhibition – ‘Rebel Soul’ – curated by AK. It was also on display at the Bike Shed’s Tobacco Dock show in 2024. It was originally built purely as a work of art, not intended to run. But when Jerry joined the team, with 40 years of Harley experience, he took one look and said it was borderline blasphemous to build a Harley that couldn’t fire up. So now the bike is being mechanically re-engineered under his guidance, turning the artwork into a fully rideable machine. It now features a brand-new Evo-style S&S motor and high performance, ensuring the finished machine rides as good as it looks. The journey continues, and the finished chopper will be for sale in 2026 to collectors and motorcycle aficionados. The last Harley Didier Chamizo painted was a Fat Boy, which sold for £120,300 at auction at the Womanity Foundations gala.

The vendor adds:

There are custom motorcycles, there are artist collaborations, and then there are objects that sit somewhere rarer: between machine, canvas, cultural artefact and autobiography La Chamera is one of those objects This 1991 Harley-Davidson Evo Softail was created in collaboration with Dirty Cats Motorcycles and hand-painted by celebrated French contemporary artist Didier Chamizo for his first ever UK solo exhibition, Rebel Soul, held at D'Stassi Art in Shoreditch, London It is understood to be the final motorcycle Chamizo will ever paint 

That alone gives La Chamera a particular significance Chamizo has painted only a very small number of motorcycles, and the last two to come to market both achieved six-figure results, with the most recent known example, a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy painted for the Womanity Foundation gala in Geneva, selling for CHF160,000, approximately £125,000, in 2016. That was ten years before La Chamera was created.

This is not a decorative custom paint job on a motorcycle It is a one-off work by an internationally recognised artist whose story is inseparable from his work Chamizo spent 17 years in prison for armed robberies and arms trafficking connected to his early revolutionary life While incarcerated, painting became his escape, his discipline and eventually his transformation He fought for access to painting materials, created work from inside prison, launched creative initiatives for other inmates, and produced work that began attracting serious collectors while he was still behind bars One of the most remarkable works from this period was the mural he painted in the underground passage linking the former Saint-Paul and Saint-Joseph prisons in Lyon Created between 1988 and 1989 with the help of fellow inmates, the fresco still exists today and is recognised as part of the architectural and cultural heritage of the former prison site; classified as an historic site It remains one of the most extraordinary chapters in Chamizo's story: a major artwork created not after prison, but from within it 

His career changed when Alain-Dominique Perrin, then President of Cartier, and founder of the Cartier Foundation of contemporary art, was shown Chamizo's work while the artist was still in prison Perrin recognised something exceptional He visited Chamizo behind bars, acquired his work, supported him, and helped open the door to the serious contemporary art world Perrin would later describe Chamizo as one of the finest technical and figurative painters of his generation The significance of Perrin's support cannot be overstated As President of Cartier and founder of the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Perrin was one of the most influential patrons of contemporary art in Europe Recognising Chamizo's extraordinary talent while he was still incarcerated, he championed him at a time when very few others would have done so After his release in 1991, Chamizo was pardoned by President François Mitterrand in January 1993 He went on to build an international career, developing his own vivid visual language, often described as lettric abstraction-figuration: a collision of figuration, text, satire, street energy, caricature and lived experience 

Over the following decades, he received numerous artistic honours and laureate distinctions, established himself as one of France's leading contemporary figurative artists, and saw his work enter important public and private collections His collectors have included Alain-Dominique Perrin, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, Marisa Berenson, Hugues Aufray, JoeyStarr and Renaud, while his work has continued to attract institutional recognition, humanitarian commissions and international exhibitions His monumental public works include the Mur de Douelle in southwest France, a mural stretching approximately 300 metres along the River Lot and depicting the history of wine in the region It remains one of the most ambitious public artworks of its kind in France. 

Over the course of his career, Chamizo has exhibited internationally alongside some of the most recognisable names in contemporary art, including Jeff Koons, Arman, Niki de Saint Phalle, César, Combas, Hervé and Richard Di Rosa, Kenny Scharf, Birk Dietman, Erró and Antonio Seguí His collectors have included Alain-Dominique Perrin, Emmanuel Taittinger, Marisa Berenson and French singer-songwriter Renaud La Chamera brings that essence and parts of the story onto a motorcycle Created for Rebel Soul, Chamizo's UK debut exhibition, the bike was conceived around British punk rock, rebellion, and excess The artwork features Chamizo's own interpretations of the British rock 'n' roll figures and symbols that shaped the exhibition's spirit, including Amy Winehouse, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and the destructive glamour of punk culture Chamizo explained the idea himself in an interview: "The engine is a 1991 Harley Evo model, the year I was released from prison, and the styling is inspired by the '60s and '70s, which were the years of my youth before my incarcerations They gave me Punk-Rock as a theme, because it's the British music I love, and the Rebel Soul exhibition is in England" The result is a motorcycle that is both deeply personal and unmistakably theatrical It tells a story light-heartedly through the codes of British rebellion: punk, rock 'n' roll, youth, danger, excess, colour and defiance.

Originally, La Chamera was built as a work of art rather than a running motorcycle But under the guidance of Jerry King, Dirty Cats' Harley specialist with over 40 years of experience, the project evolved Jerry considered it almost blasphemous for a Harley of this character not to run The decision was then made to mechanically re-engineer the machine properly, turning it from static exhibition piece into a rideable work of art It now features a brand-new S&S Evo-style engine with zero miles, giving the finished motorcycle the mechanical presence to match the artwork. 

La Chamera is therefore not simply a painted Harley It is the final motorcycle canvas of Didier Chamizo, built around his own life story, unveiled at his first UK solo exhibition, exhibited in London, shown at Bike Shed Moto Show at Tobacco Dock, and mechanically rebuilt into a functioning chopper Since its debut, La Chamera's significance has continued to grow In 2026, it was invited to the prestigious Cartier 'Style et Luxe' Concours d'Elegance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2026, July 9th - 12th, where it has been selected to appear as part of the American Chopper Motorcycle Celebration Held on Goodwood's private Cartier lawns, Style et Luxe is one of the Festival's most exclusive showcases, celebrating outstanding design and artistry rather than mechanical performance alone In its invitation, Goodwood described the class as bringing together "some of the most iconic choppers ever created", recognising these machines as "rolling works of art" that have left "an enduring mark in automotive history" Its value lies in that convergence 

A Harley-Davidson softail in chopper style 
A one-off Chamizo artwork 
A document of Rebel Soul 
A final motorcycle canvas 
A machine with direct exhibition provenance 
A rare bridge between the worlds of contemporary art and custom motorcycle culture 

With La Chamera, Chamizo has closed a body of work that spans only a handful of motorcycles over the course of his career As the final example, it represents the conclusion of an exceptionally rare chapter in the work of an internationally recognised contemporary artist For collectors, the appeal is obvious: La Chamera cannot be repeated Chamizo will not paint another motorcycle The exhibition has passed The collaboration happened once The story, the provenance, the artwork and the machine belong to this object alone Chamizo's reputation extends well beyond the art world A respected figure in the French motorcycle scene, he remains an active racer at 74 years old A lifelong Harley-Davidson devotee who has ridden and raced just about every motorcycle worth its salt, motorcycles have been a constant throughout his remarkable life

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