Lexus and Crafting Plastics to produce installation and limited-edition collectibles from top creators at Miami Art & Design 2024
Lexus will present an interactive, multi-sensory installation during Miami Art & Design Week 2024 (2–8 December), produced in collaboration with award-winning design and research studio, Crafting Plastics, and displayed in the sculpture garden of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami). This is Lexus’s third year partnering with ICA Miami at the event.
Lexus and Crafting Plastics will also debut a capsule collection of 26 limited-edition collectible design objects, developed in collaboration with clean fragrance brand dilo and top creators Germane Barnes, Michael Bennett (Studio Kër), Suchi Reddy and Tara Sakhi.
Entitled Liminal Cycles, the installation’s central sculpture is inspired by the Lexus LF-ZC battery electric concept car and is made from environmentally responsive bioplastic materials, showcasing Crafting Plastics and Lexus innovations in personalisation and responsiveness within responsible design.
The installation will explore the developing concept of SDVs (Software Defined Vehicles) through a multi-sensory exploration of the dynamic innovations in sustainable materials and reactive software, representing future customisable in-vehicle experiences.
Lexus and Crafting Plastics will present four interactive and sensory-responsive sculptural pieces, including a central sculpture – a to-scale representation of the Lexus LF-ZC. To embody Lexus’s ethos of connectivity, craftsmanship, sensory design, and sustainability research, Liminal Cycles depicts the concept car as a living, breathing organism in harmony with its surroundings. Visitors will experience the installation by seeing reactive changes to the sculpture’s colour, hearing amplified sound and smelling an aromatic mist featuring the new Lexus in Design fragrance, developed in partnership with dilo.
The sculpture’s UV-responsive material skin changes colour based on fluctuations in ultraviolet radiation levels in real time. Two satellite installations transform interior design elements of the Lexus LF-ZC into interactive sensory experiences: the car’s steering wheel and headrest are reimagined as complementary sculptures, applying environmentally responsive technology to prompt sensory responses triggered by the viewer’s proximity. A third satellite sculpture features a bioplastic lattice design and UV-responsive material skin, that reveal the Lexus logo through wind-activation.
Lexus in Design limited-edition collection
The Lexus limited-edition collectible design objects will embody the Lexus brand ethos of personalisation, sustainability, technology, and performance. The custom scent created by dilo that is integrated into the Liminal Cycles installation and design objects, will also be featured in a candle.
The limited-edition collection and Lexus in Design candle will be on display and on sale at ICA Miami and also at HBX.com, with proceeds supporting ICA Miami’s sustainability initiatives.
Heather Updegraff, General Manager of Lexus International Strategic Communications commented: “We are thrilled to return to ICA Miami with another large-scale project, this time with revelatory design studio Crafting Plastics, who are pushing the boundaries of technological and material capabilities. We are honoured to collaborate with them in creating an immersive work that represents some of the most exciting concepts being developed at Lexus today.”
Vlasta Kubušová, co-founder of Crafting Plastics said:“We’re honoured to collaborate with Lexus, whose commitment to sustainability and innovation aligns closely with our own mission. Through this collaboration we have fully integrated sustainable material innovation into a luxury context to showcase the potential of bio-based materials that are durable, scalable and responsive. We hope this sensory installation allows viewers to explore these possibilities in a tangible and memorable experience.”
Alex Gartenfeld, Irma and Norman Braman Artistic Director of ICA Miami commented: “Sustainability is a critical focus for ICA Miami in our practices across the museums, so it is wonderful to partner with Lexus again to raise awareness of sustainable design. Vlasta and Miroslav have a truly innovative and exciting approach to using sustainable materials, and we are thrilled to provide this platform for their work.”
Returning to this year’s Miami Art & Design Week will be the Lexus Art Series: Art and Innovation talks with Whitewall, a programme of engaging discussions between Lexus collaborators, ambassadors, and industry leaders across the art and design worlds.
ENDS
Notes to editors
About the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami
The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami) is dedicated to promoting continuous experimentation in contemporary art, advancing new scholarship, and fostering the exchange of art and ideas throughout the Miami region and internationally. Through a calendar of exhibitions and programmes, and its collection, ICA Miami provides an important international platform for the work of local, emerging, and under-recognised artists, and advances the public appreciation of the most innovative art of our time. Launched in 2014, ICA Miami opened its new permanent home in Miami’s Design District in December 2017. The museum’s central location positions it as a cultural anchor within the community and enhances its role in developing cultural literacy throughout the Miami region. The museum offers free admission, providing audiences with open, public access to artistic excellence year-round.
The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami is located at 61 NE 41st Street, Miami, Florida 33137. For more information, visit icamiami.org or follow the museum on Instagram and explore the ICA Channel for inside looks at ICA Miami exhibitions and the practices of the most exciting artists working today.
About Crafting Plastics
Crafting Plastics is an award-winning interdisciplinary design and research studio founded by Vlasta Kubušová and Miroslav Král in 2016, which focuses on the research, development and implementation of a new generation of advanced ecological bio-based materials. Operating at the intersection of science and design, Crafting Plastics revolutionises the properties and aesthetics of ephemeral materials, such as naturally derived bioplastics, to offer durable design solutions across diverse industries. At the forefront of its practice, Crafting Plastics works to develop natural and scalable bioplastics to elevate the application and uses of the material within design and architecture. Nuatan®, the material brand developed by Crafting Plastics, is an ecological alternative to fossil-fuel-based plastic, created using 100 per cent biobased and biodegradable biopolymer blends. The studio is also conducting innovative research on advanced environmentally responsive materials that act as sensing systems and enhance the relationship between humans and nature.
Crafting Plastics has worked with renowned brands such as Dior, Nike and Lexus, and presented projects at distinguished institutions worldwide, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, ALCOVA, MAK Vienna and Salon de Mobile. The studio has earned international acclaim, receiving nominations for the Slovak National Design Award, German Design Award (2018, 2021) and Beazley Designs of the Year at the London Design Museum. In 2022 Crafting Plastics was recognized by Dezeen as one of the world’s top emerging studios and in 2018 co-founder Vlasta Kubušová was featured in Forbes Slovakia’s 30 Under 30 List, underscoring Crafting Plastic’s pioneering role in circular design and sustainable material innovation.
About dilo
Founded in 2017 in Philadelphia, dilo launched as a product designer and manufacturer of comfort goods – candles, room sprays, reed diffusers – that tell a story beyond their typical use. dilo has also produced collections with eau de parfum, clothing, incense, and other home and personal care products, all designed and created to ensure that they are the cleanest in the industry. Largely sold through independent retailers, dilo can be found across the US and in several countries within Europe, Asia, and Australia.
