There is no map to innovation. The path to invention is laid with passion, confidence and, above all, uncommon vision. Those are the guiding principles behind "Light and Speed" at The 460 Degrees Gallery, a one-of-a-kind contemporary art experience presented by Lexus in Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Chicago.
Sebastien Agneessens, a prominent New York-based curator for the contemporary arts, curated the multi-media exhibition that brings together some of the freshest talents on the contemporary art scene. Shamim Momin, associate curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, served as executive consultant. "Light and Speed" features conceptual photography by Miranda Lichtenstein, video art by Pascual Sisto and an architectural installation by Arne Quinze.
The 460 Degrees Gallery is hosting gala events, public seminars, premium tastings and presentations by luxury retailers. "The idea of 460 Degrees is that there's more to discover beyond what we see or even imagine can be," says Agneessens. The gallery opened in Los Angeles in October and has been an instant hit in each city. In New York, 460 Degrees Gallery had more than 13,000 visitors during its two-week run.
Lexus is mounting "Light and Speed" at The 460 Degrees Gallery to showcase the launch of its all-new 2007 LS 460 luxury sedan. "We wanted to do something that celebrates reinvention and Lexus' heightened focus on design," said Deborah Meyer, vice president of marketing for Lexus.
The 460 Degrees Gallery in Chicago will be located at 666 N. Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The exhibition manifesto and further details are available at www.460degrees.com.
A Look Inside The 460 Degrees Gallery
A towering vortex of wood. Hypnotic video images of moving cars. Photographs chronicling the age-old quest for higher meaning and self-discovery. As Agneessens put it, entering "Light and Speed" at The 460 Degrees Gallery is like "journeying into a dream."
The exhibition space is dominated by "Timegate," Arne Quinze's massive spiral structure made of thousands of pinewood planks, an installation that required more than three miles of wood and more than 25,000 nails. Quinze, a Belgian artist perhaps best known for his breakthrough designs for the Burning Man festival, said, "I want this work to be an experience out of time. Since it's a piece of art you walk into, it goes beyond visual understanding. This is an experience of sensuality and of deep feelings."
At the base of Quinze's vortex is a video installation by Barcelona-born artist Pascual Sisto, who now resides in Los Angeles. "Push/Pull" is his homage to American car culture: on one video screen, a kaleidoscopic vision of white headlights approaches in silence; on the other, red taillights speed away. "Living in L.A., most of my best ideas come to me while driving, and my imagery takes shape in the car," Sisto said. "The notion here is that driving is a meditative state and the car becomes an extension of one's imagination."
Miranda Lichtenstein also explores the nexus between meditation and machine. In a photographic series titled "The Searchers," the New York-based artist documents various paths that people take to discover higher consciousness. One image, "Anechoic Chamber," shows a man in a soundproof studio at Bell Laboratories that the Guinness Book once called the world's quietest room. "I wanted to create an image of something 'undocumentable;' complete silence," said Lichtenstein, whose other photographs on view document yoga, med
The 460 Degrees Gallery also presents opportunities for visitors to participate in the discovery process. Touch-screen displays feature in-depth artist interviews and take visitors inside the art-making process. Various public events will unfold around the exhibits, including Wired Magazine's "Gadget Lab," a seminar on "The Art of the Suit" by Details magazine and chocolates distributed by Teuscher Chocolates of Switzerland (See website for complete list of events and schedule).