A car bent into a perfect circle and another wrung out like a wet towel: that's the pitch behind Motomorphosis, a free three-day exhibition in Manhattan from Brooklyn art collective MSCHF and Lexus.
The project features two full-size sculptures built from real Lexus vehicles. Circle Car starts life as an RZ 450e electric SUV, curled into a closed loop with its nose meeting its tail — the wheels run around the outer edge and the cabin follows the circular shape. Twisted Car, based on the plug-in-hybrid RX 450h+, has been stretched and rotated along its length into a spiral, with body panels, windows and other familiar features pulled apart. Both are still recognisably Lexus, just not anything you could legally (or physically) drive.
The unaltered versions of both cars will sit alongside their distorted twins, so visitors can see the before-and-after for themselves. The choice of models is deliberate: one battery-electric, one plug-in hybrid, a nod to where the car industry is heading, even as the exhibition strips away the whole point of a car and treats it purely as an object to look at. The name says it — 'motor' plus 'metamorphosis'.
MSCHF has built a reputation on exactly this kind of stunt: taking everyday consumer products and warping them into commentary that sits somewhere between art, advertising and internet culture. For Lexus, the collaboration is a way to plant its design credentials inside New York's contemporary art world at the busiest possible moment.
Timing is the practical hook. Motomorphosis coincides with Armory Week, when galleries, collectors and artists flood the city for The Armory Show, the major international contemporary art fair running Sept 24-27. If you're already in town for the fairs, this is an easy add to the itinerary — and if you're not, it's a good excuse to see the Chelsea gallery scene at its most active.
The exhibition runs for three days at Chelsea Industrial, 545 W 28th St in Manhattan. There's an opening night on Thursday, Sept 24, from 7-9pm, then public viewing on Friday and Saturday, 10am to 6pm. Entry is free, but you'll need to RSVP in advance. If the full-size cars aren't enough, miniature replicas of the sculptures will also be on show.
Worth knowing if you go: 28th Street in Chelsea puts you within walking distance of the main Armory Show venue and a dense cluster of galleries in west Chelsea, so you can chain several art stops into one afternoon. Arrive early on Friday or Saturday if you want photos of Circle Car from above without a crowd in shot — the overhead view is the one that makes the loop format click.
