LEXUS UNVEILS INSTALLATION BY SUCHI REDDY, SHAPED BY AIR
Lexus has partnered with award-winning designer Suchi Reddy to develop a series of art installations for Miami Art & Design Week, Intersect By Lexus (IBL Tokyo) and Milan Design Week, with the aim to promote Lexus' Electrified vision for a more sustainable future.
Ahead of Milan Design Week, where Lexus and Suchi will unveil a new installation, the Shaped by Air installation from Miami is currently on view at IBL Tokyo in a new configuration.
Shaped by Air - an installation by acclaimed New York-based artist and architect Suchi Reddy, founder of Reddymade Architecture and Design - alongside prototypes by the four LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023 winners will showcase at the Milan Design Week.
Responding to an overarching theme - shaping the future - the public exhibition will be on view until the 23rd of April at Superstudio in Milan, Italy.
Lexus has created compelling, immersive experiences for visitors at Milan Design Week for many years, partnering with visionary creatives such as Philippe Nigro, Neri Oxman, Sou Fujimoto, Rhizomatics, and Germane Barnes, among others. Continuing in this tradition, Reddy's Shaped by Air draws inspiration from the Lexus Electrified Sport concept vehicle and its quality of being "shaped by air."
It was first presented in the sculpture garden at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami) during Miami Art & Design Week 2022, and it has been re-imagined for Milan Design Week as a multisensory experience through which visitors can travel. Reddy's ethereal installation celebrates the collaborators' shared commitment to human-centred, carbon-neutral, and impeccably crafted design.
"We are thrilled to continue our collaboration with Suchi Reddy in Milan, a place that has inspired so much ground-breaking creativity. We hope that by situating her human-centred approach to design in dialogue with the innovation of our LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023 winners, we will inspire visitors to imagine new futures," said Brian Bolain, Lexus' Global Head of Marketing. "The Lexus Electrified Sport, Reddy's interpretation of it, and these award-winning ideas all represent forward-looking design and express our ongoing commitment to craftsmanship and sustainability."
Situated inside Superstudio, the site-specific installation invites guests to discover a to-scale interpretation of the Lexus Electrified Sport after travelling through an enveloping forest of its composite shapes, which are suspended from the ceiling. These organic, structured leaf-like shapes are crafted in vibrant shades of green and at varying heights, subtly evoking the Henri Matisse neckline. Composed of sculptural steel and aluminum elements accentuated by dappled light, they invite deep absorption and create an environment that evokes the natural world.
An accompanying soundscape inspired by the wind brings visitors even more in tune with nature. “We look forward to working with Lexus, a brand dedicated to empowering artists and designers, to work on a new interpretation of Shaped by Air. It uses repetition, multi-sensory elements and three-dimensionality to create an emotional environment to create in. “Wraps your body like a car,” says Suchi Reddy. Reflecting Lexus' commitment to hospitality, a concept that encompasses both hospitality and mindfulness, the Super Studio Space invites visitors to rest in the lounge on the second floor, allowing them to observe Shaped by Air from a different angle. to The air in the lounge is purified by Panasonic's nanoeTM X, a technology used in Lexus models to create a healthier cabin environment.
Digital audiences will have the opportunity to connect with Shaped by Air through a partnership with Diorama, a digital creative agency based in Milan and Paris. Diorama envisioned the installation as a metaverse experience that complements the physical installation, but has a life of its own. This virtual extension is realized as a dynamic digital forest, allowing users to explore the abstract natural world from a never-before-seen perspective, full of rustling leaves, meandering air currents and light scattering.
