Whitewall & Lexus host a conversation series at ICA Miami
Last Wednesday, December 6, the 8th annual Lexus & Whitewall Art and Design Innovation Series was held at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Miami. Divided into two panels, the discussions were inspired by Lexus’s latest installation—a commissioned work by the solar designer Marjan Van Aubel. Named “8 Minutes and 20 Seconds” after the time it takes for light to travel from the sun to Earth, the work is on view at ICA Miami.
Discussing the power of light with Lexus
For the first panel, entitled “Reimagining Systems: Tapping into the Power of Light,” Whitewall’s Executive Editor, Eliza Jordan, spoke with Van Aubel, as well as Sandro Kereselidze, Founder and Chief Creative of ARTECHOUSE, and Viviana Hohenstein, Color & Sensory Designer at Lexus.
At the conversation’s core was the potential of both solar and artificial light to transform the human experience. Whether harnessing the power of solar in objects, using the beauty of light and color to create work, or translating ideas into immersive environments, each leader spoke about their missions and ideas to change the way we engage with energy, light, and the natural world.
Throughout the conversation, we heard from each subject about their creative practices—from using light as a transformational tool to embracing artificial light to mimic natural light. Van Aubel began by sharing details about the installation, and Hochenstein elaborated on how she considers light when designing at Lexus. Then, Kereselidze shared sentiments about previous and current exhibitions that embrace the power of light—particularly its current one, “Beyond the Light” in Washington, D.C., created with NASA.
A conversation at ICA Miami about art in public spaces
For the second panel, “Design in the Public Arena: A Vision for Humanity,” moderator Tamara Warren, Founder of LeCar, spoke with Sky Gellatly, CEO and Co-founder of ICNCLST/, as well as William Chergosky, Chief Designer at CALTY Design Research, Inc., and Ralph Nauta, Artist and Co-Founder of DRIFT.
The discussion dissected the considerations that need to be made to engage the public with visionary projects—from art and design to music and culture. Each panelist provided details about their personal roles and creative practices, and elaborated on how they fit and help progress art in public spaces. Nauta spoke about breaking boundaries and even bending laws to bring new artwork to life—as DRIFT did recently by working with New York City to amend legislation related to flying drones—and Gellatly offers insight into bringing an artist’s work authentically into the world and into creative partnerships. To conclude, Chergosky spoke about designing car details for the public and how he turns challenges into opportunities.
