• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, November 20, 2006

Sculptures and paintings are displayed in showrooms for art aficionados to admire. Cars are also displayed in showrooms for potential buyers to browse, although that's considered more lowbrow.

Art and luxury sedans united last month for a traveling exhibition called "Light and Speed" at The 460 Degrees Gallery, promoting artists, photographers and the 2007 Lexus LS 460.

"We wanted to come up with an innovative program to help launch our flagship vehicle, the LS 460 and LS 460 L," said Brian Bolain, national interactive and contextual marketing manager at Lexus.

"The car itself... highlights our emphasis on design, from its sculptural shape to the headlights, which were modeled after Baccarat tumblers. Our customers are affluent, worldly, and appreciate the art and design worlds. It was important for us as a brand to communicate with them directly," Bolain said when describing the concept behind the exhibition.

The event launched in Los Angeles for two weeks, then moved to New York for a stint ending Nov. 27. Miami will be the next stop in December, with Chicago the final venue in January.

"Light and Speed" promotes conceptual photography by Miranda Lichtenstein, video art by Pascual Sisto and an architectural installation by Arne Quinze. Shamim Momin, associate curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, is an executive consultant for the exhibition.

The central piece of work is "Timegate," a spiral structure created by Quinze that's made of 3,300 pinewood planks, using more than three miles of wood.

At the base of "Timegate" lies Sisto's "Push/Pull," two video screens that feature a kaleidoscope of white headlights approaching on one screen and red taillights speeding away on another. Lichtenstein's photographic series entitled "The Searchers" documents images of silence, from a man in a soundproofed room to someone meditating.

Three agencies collaborated on the exhibition: LIME handled the gallery production, Inform Ventures handled the public relations and opening events and Team One handled advertising and worked with Lexus' media partners.

Visitor feedback on the events has been positive to date. "Thus far, people have really taken to the art, which for us is of primary importance," said Bolain. "The fact that visitors draw their own analogies between the art and the car, which is displayed in each location, is fantastic to us."

And what of the exhibition name? Not only is it the model number for the Lexus sedan, it also signifies the "idea of going beyond a complete revolution," Bolain said. Deep. Check out pictures from the Los Angeles event here.