Minimalist Automotive Design to Get Maximum Exposure in L.A. Exhibit
Paradigm-challenging vehicles and boundary-pushing designers are the focus of Petersen’s ‘Disruptors’ exhibit, opening June 29.
Automotive design has always vacillated between simplicity and complexity. Famed 2002 Automotive Hall of fame inductee Giorgetto Giugiaro focused on flowing, soft curves before transitioning to straighter lines later in his career, but he never introduced overly busy shapes into any of his creations. Other designers, like Harley Earl, alternated between the functional and the flamboyant, as evidenced by the dichotomy between the 1953 Chevrolet Corvette and the 1959 Cadillac lineup.
Contemporary automotive design has gravitated towards the minimalist aesthetic. Mercedes eliminated sharp creases and abrupt lines with M-B’s new A-Class hatchback because the company felt its predecessor was a bit too over the top. And Mazda’s famously minimalist Kodo design language uses flowing shapes and smooth surfaces to make their vehicles look more premium.
Designers operating outside the auto industry can also have an impact on how minimalism influences vehicular design. That is the focus of “Disruptors,” an upcoming exhibit at Los Angeles’ Petersen Automotive Museum. Opening on June 29, the exhibit will highlight the recent trend among designers to strip automotive design down to its core elements in ways that are unprecedented.
‘This exhibit is unlike any other we’ve presented in the past because the content challenges common perceptions of vehicles, and the presentation is appropriately unconventional in its aesthetic.’
The “Disruptors”exhibit will be structured around the work of Rem D. Koolhaas and Joey Ruiter, two designers that have only recently applied their talents to automotive design. While the purpose of the new exhibit is to showcase how their outsider status can alter the trajectory of traditional automotive design, that doesn’t mean they’re hostile to the industry. In fact it’s quite the opposite. Koolhaas recently expressed his love for the DMC Delorean on Instagram, extolling the car for its ability to inspire him for the past several decades. Another fun fact is that United Nude, his designer shoe company, derived its logo from the one used for the Delorean Motor Company.
Ruiter’s passion for cars is no less significant. He owns a fourth generation Lincoln Continental that he calls the “White Beast,” and it’s routinely featured on his Instagram page. His love for the car even got the attention of Candylab Toys, which hired him to design a toy car heavily inspired by the Lincoln. This has allowed Ruiter the ability to move beyond his previous work of designing furniture and watercraft. His “Consumer Car” (pictured above) will be featured at the Petersen.
The “Lo-Res Car Sculpture by United Nude” (pictured above and below) is a prime example of the type of artwork that will be featured at the Petersen Museum. Although the vehicle looks like something Rick Deckard might use to hunt down replicants, its inspiration was the Lamborghini Countach. The design is based on the idea of what the Countach would look like if its three dimensional shape was viewed in its lowest resolution, hence the name.
Koolhaas and Ruiter’s automotive designs are also more than just esoteric flights of fancy. They’re fully functional too. For example, Ruiter’s “Moto Undone” contains a 1,000W, 48V electric motor that enables the bike to travel 90 miles on a single charge. For both designers, the goal is to create truly radical yet simplistic works of art that are still grounded in some semblance of reality.
“’Disruptors’ is a critical analysis on how two designers with backgrounds in fashion, architecture, and industrial design have come to perceive the automobile,” says Terry L. Karges, Petersen Automotive Museum’s Executive Director. “This exhibit is unlike any other we’ve presented in the past because the content challenges common perceptions of vehicles, and the presentation is appropriately unconventional in its aesthetic.”
The exhibit opens June 29 and runs through March 15, 2020, with a special opening reception taking place the evening of June 28. The reception will allow auto enthusiasts and fashionistas alike to preview the exhibit before the public and will feature a moderated talk with Koolhaas and Ruiter.
Photos: Candylab Toys; Petersen Automotive Museum