Lexus in Miami: when art is inspired by a car of the future

Silence, nature and contemplation. Using those three words together, or even separately, probably does not represent a scene in which the protagonist is a car. However it is. It all happened last Tuesday, November 29, at the Sculpture Garden of the Miami Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA Miami). There, the renowned artist and architect Suchi Reddypresented “Shaped by Air”, the artistic installation that he created, inspired by the Lexus Electrified Sport concept car presented last year by the Premium brand of Toyota Motor Corporation.

As soon as you cross the entrance hall of ICA Miami and exit to the area dedicated to this type of open-air sculpture, the installation, almost 7 meters long by almost 3 meters high, is an invitation to observe every detail. This is a vehicle display shaped by mist and lightand is based on the curves of the design of the model, which according to its own designer, Alex Shen, is based on the shapes that the air gives to the clouds in the sky.

In addition, the installation incorporates metallic cutouts inspired by foliage, which seeks to suggest the coexistence of the car with nature. The sample is dynamic like the environment it tries to represent as habitat for an electric carthen the clouds of very fine drops of water, at times intensify and at times almost disappear.

It’s a true symbol of the Lexus way of being, a brand with every reason to feel comfortable representing its values ​​in these types of expressions. Because it is also not the only one.

Beyond being a brand Premium, which has the mission of conquering the demanding consumer of avant-garde vehicles, there are two strong arguments on which its message is based. The first is detail. The cars of this brand were always noted for having design in each part, and that design is identifying.

The other is the omotenashi. The translation of this word is “japanese hospitality”, and identifies Lexus since the beginning of its existence, back in 1989, when it was born as a brand of Toyota luxury cars for the North American market. In fact, Lexus is an acronym for Luxury Export United States.

It is not easy to explain the concept, rather it is better to exemplify it. Going into a Lexus dealership and getting into the cockpit of a Lexus car is perfectly comparable. Warmth, silence, harmony, kindness. All ways to describe what could be summed up with the word welcome.

Walls lined with typically Japanese wood and seats upholstered in the softest leather. Ambient sound, and high fidelity sound. Comfort to tour the facilities and surround a model to see every detail, and comfort to activate any button in the car almost without moving your hands from where they naturally fall when sitting in the driver’s seat or a passenger. Is a way of being and doingwhich the brand transmits in every area where it is possible, and which it found in the ArtWeeK Miami 2022a perfect environment to express yourself too.

But to the care of the consumer, the omotenashi, and the quality of the details, then technology was added. Over the past few years, Lexus has been adding new layers on top of these two essential pillars. They were the first luxury car brand to introduce an electrified model to the world through their hybrid models, but then came high performance, with performance cars, and finally came the last layer, the design layer, of the new identity. Of the brand.

Perhaps without knowing the imprint of Lexus, or without having driven a model, it is not so simple to understand. It is almost an unspeakable but real experience. For this reason, when entering the ICA Miami and seeing Suchi Reddy’s installation, it is not so surprising, but rather seems completely natural.

“We’d love to have consumers talk about cars all day, but that’s not how the world works. These ‘avenues’, such as art and design, give us the chance to connect with potential buyers with other ways of being and thinking”, he says. Brian BolainLexus Global Marketing Director to Infobae at a stop at the event.

That is the way to position the brand before a completely new audience, but one that can find a special attraction from an artistic form. But if a Lexus person had to be comfortable with this expression, it’s the Head of Design at CALTY, the studio that was created in 1973 in California to design future Toyota concepts and from which the Lexus Electrified Sport was born.

In another extensive interview that Infobae conducted with Alex ShenLead Designer and Studio Resource Manager at CALTY Design Research, the first reflection of one of the “fathers” of the Lexus Electrified Sport was that “as a designer, my job is to bring an idea to a car, but this went further. I am delighted to see how creativity has led to a representation of my vehicle in the form of a metaphor. It is wonderful and gives another meaning to my creation”.

CALTY is one of those sites where creativity is given free rein. The Lexus that inspired Suchi Reddy at this ICA Miami installation is way ahead of its time. Probably, as the heir to the Lexus LFA, some of its lines will be reflected in a few years in the new generation electric sports car that the brand will launch, but it would not be surprising if that new stamp is also reflected in the next Lexus sedans and SUVs.

In a way, Reddy and Shen do the same, running wild with their imaginations and surprising the world with unique creations. Art has united them.

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