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Lexus Installation Taps Contemporary Talent

The exhibition space is filled with works by contemporary artists Arne Quinze, Pascual Sisto, and Miranda Lichtenstein.

Meaghan O'Neill -- Interior Design, 10/26/2006 12:00:00 AM

Luxury car manufacturer Lexus takes a turn into the contemporary art scene this fall and winter when it presents the traveling installation “Light and Speed” at the 460 Degrees Gallery. The multi-media exhibition, curated by New York-based Sebastien Agneessens, brings together contemporary talent including photographer Miranda Lichtenstein, video artist Pascual Sisto, and architectural artist Arne Quinze. Shamim Momin, associate curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, served as executive consultant. The installation opened in Los Angeles last week and will later move to New York, Miami, and Chicago.

The event coincides with the launch of the brand’s redesigned flagship luxury sedan, the LS 460, which now features a 380-horsepower V8 engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Entering "Light and Speed" is like "journeying into a dream,” says Agneessens. The exhibition space is dominated by "Timegate," Belgian artist Arne Quinze's massive spiral structure made of 3,300 pinewood planks. At the base of its vortex, Pascual Sisto’s video installation, "Push/Pull," serves as a homage to American car culture. "Living in L.A., most of my best ideas come to me while driving,” says Sisto, “and my imagery takes shape in the car. The notion here is that driving is a meditative state and the car becomes an extension of one's imagination."

New York-based Miranda Lichtenstein also explores the meditative mind. Her photographic series "The Searchers," presents people participating in various activities, such as yoga and shamanic practices, while seeking higher consciousness. "I wanted to create an image of something 'undocumentable': complete silence," she says.

In New York, Lexus also commissioned a separate public art exhibit by nArchitects, which was shown at the World Financial Center Plaza for five days last week. Each day, the installation—which first appeared as a multilayered acrylic sculpture—evolved as sections of it were removed and placed around the plaza as stand-alone sculptures. The final piece was removed on October 20 to coincide with the national launch of Lexus’s LS 460 and LS 460 L models.

During its limited engagement in the various cities it will visit, the 460 Degrees Gallery will host gala events, public seminars, premium tastings, and presentations by luxury retailers. The gallery will remain in Los Angeles through November 3 and will then travel to New York (November 14—27), Miami (December 7–21), and Chicago (January 10—23, 2007).