Lexus Unveils the UX Art Car 2021, Zen Garden, by Clap Studio

An interpretation of a classical Japanese meditation garden is the winner of the second Lexus UX Art Car design competition. “Zen Garden,” by Valencia’s Clap Studio, sees the entire bodywork of the premium compact crossover covered in a pattern of thousands of paper petals.

The striking monochrome work won the popular vote among six artists’ submissions presented by Lexus Spain on its customer website.

The images of the car were created in the courtyard of Club Alma in Madrid and capture the exceptional detail in the piece. Clap Studio – artists Jordi Iranzo and Angela Montagud – were inspired by the UX’s key qualities of technology, design, innovation and detail.

At a time when the need for the world to pause and contemplate is all the more valuable, Clap Studio sought to express a world where people and nature can coexist in perfect harmony. “Our concept is a Zen garden that represents a state of mind: calm, pure consciousness,” they explained.

The traditional Japanese garden brings together the free and arbitrary character of nature, which will always find ways to grow, with precise and special qualities perfected by the human hand: symmetry, technology and innovation.

“In our Zen garden, Lexus represents perfect harmony, it is the union of nature, technology and innovation. A man’s creation of geometric lines and impeccable symmetry covered in plant life,” said Iranzo.

“We have used paper, a significant element in Japanese culture, to cover the car’s exterior in a form of Lexus vegetation, giving it volume,” Montagud continued. “Light is another essential quality in Japanese art and design and here it transforms the Lexus UX into a living thing. Depending on the position, tone and intensity of the light, it generates changing textures and colours throughout the day.”

The competition also featured entries from artists based in Bilbao, Madrid, Seville, Murcia and Barcelona. All the submissions can be viewed online here.

Lexus will shortly be hosting a special media event in Spain to introduce the winning artwork.

ART AS AN INSPIRATION

Lexus UX Art Car is a Lexus Spain project designed to join the brand with original art through a national competition and international exposure for the winner.

In the first edition the winners were Antoñito and Manolín with their creation Gyorin Kozane (Scale Armour), presented at the 2019 Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille.

ENDS