The boundary-pushing art collective MSCHF, renowned for its audacious transformations of everyday objects – from comically oversized red boots to microscopically tiny handbags – has once again captured global attention. For their latest venture, they’ve set their sights on a considerably grander canvas: two luxurious Lexus vehicles, reimagined as breathtaking, surreal sculptures.
MOTOMORPHOSIS: Where Automotive Meets Avant-Garde
Commissioned by Lexus for their groundbreaking “MOTOMORPHOSIS” exhibition, coinciding with New York’s prestigious Armory Week, MSCHF has unveiled two astonishing automotive sculptures. A Lexus RZ 450e and an RX 450h+ have undergone radical metamorphoses, appearing less like fabricated objects and more like digital manipulations brought to life. The exhibition masterfully places these distorted creations alongside their pristine production counterparts, starkly highlighting the extent of MSCHF’s artistic intervention.
The Twisted and The Circled: A Study in Form
The Lexus RZ 450e emerges as the “Circle Car,” its sleek body stretched and curved with impossible grace until its front and rear seamlessly merge into a continuous, elegant loop. Meanwhile, the RX 450h+ undergoes a dramatic contortion, becoming the “Twisted Car.” This vehicle appears to rotate dramatically along its longitudinal axis, pulling its windows, doors, and body lines into a mesmerizing, dynamic spiral. These pieces, captured in striking photography by Matt Hartz for Lexus, challenge conventional perceptions of automotive design.
Beyond Concept: The “Form Car” Philosophy
While these creations might evoke images of an exceptionally avant-garde auto show, MSCHF prefers the term “Form Cars.” This distinction is crucial, as it cleverly subverts the traditional concept car paradigm. Instead of using an experimental vehicle to showcase future technology or functionality, MSCHF treats the existing automobile as a primary form, ripe for artistic manipulation. This approach, documented by Fritz Metayer for MSCHF, is deeply rooted in the digital design tools prevalent today.
Digital Dreams, Physical Realities
The collective’s methodology draws inspiration from the seemingly mundane operations within 3D software. Stretching, bending, and twisting objects are routine digital commands, even when they result in geometries that defy physical logic. MSCHF also references the “squash and stretch” principle of 3D animation, where forms distort through ‘smear frames’ to convey motion. “MOTOMORPHOSIS” ingeniously freezes this visual shorthand, imbuing it with tangible, physical mass.
A Contradiction in Motion (and Stillness)
The juxtaposition of the sculptures with their unaltered counterparts amplifies a profound contradiction. One vehicle is meticulously engineered for dynamic movement through space; its distorted twin, however, is entirely static, yet paradoxically communicates a sense of emphatic motion. As Lisa McQueen, Senior Manager of Lexus Marketing, eloquently puts it, “Most conversations about electrification focus on how a vehicle is powered. MOTOMORPHOSIS asks a different question: What can electricity power in our imagination? Working with MSCHF allowed us to take the automobile beyond its familiar form and explore movement, transformation and possibility in an entirely new way.”
The “MOTOMORPHOSIS” exhibition is currently on display at Chelsea Industrial in New York, running until September 26, 2026.
Editorial Transparency: This article was developed with the assistance of AI tools, which may have been used for research, outlining, editing, or copy refinement. Reporting, fact-checking, and editorial decisions were made by the Design Milk editorial team.
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