Art Basel In Motion: Suchi Reddy Interprets a Lexus Sports Concept
Part One: Suchi Reddy debuts installation at the Institute of contemporary art Miami
Photo: Steve Benisty
“It’s best seen at dusk,” Suchi Reddy tells me of her new work that debuted during Miami Art Week. There’s something about the blurring of edges in architect and artist Reddy’s new work “Shaped By Air,” on view in the sculpture garden at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami. It’s an ethereal work composed in bright kelly green pieces that seems to dangle in space and loosely references the shape of a sports car.
The piece is Reddy’s collaboration with the carmaker Lexus, and a reflection of the battery- powered Electrified Sport concept that Lexus debuted earlier this year. The auto industry is in the midst of a giant pivot to a new powertrain philosophy that underpins their products. Here Reddy has interpreted the thematic qualities of the Lexus Electrified Sport, enveloped in a mist that recalls in my mind, the start of a race car at dawn. It’s all up for interpretation in the sculpture garden, which aligns with Reddy’s intention to navigate the intersection of space and feeling and the build environment’s impact on the mind. Its an approach omnipresent in Reddy’s commissions for her installation in Prospect Park, in a house with Ai Weiwei and a Google store.
“Light and shadow is always in the back of my head.”
“Light and shadow is always in the back of my head,” Reddy said on a panel at the museum. “At the fabrication shop, I would take the metal forms I was working with, and play with different light intensity, throw their shadows up again the wall.” The installation is on view at the ICA.
As auto shows fade, carmakers are showing up at events that gather audiences in the cultural calendar. Art Basel has become a central activation point for luxury carmakers that want to speak to an audience that seeks out art and design. This series by Le Car investigates that intention and the execution of these brand immersions.