Moving Canvas

Adele van Heerden x Lexus RZ

If something never moves, it will inevitably decay. When a body of water stays still, it turns stagnant - quickly losing its oxygen until it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria, mosquito larvae, and toxic algae. When a car is never driven, it rapidly deteriorates - the fluids start to degrade, the battery begins to drain, and its moving parts completely cease their function. And when art is never witnessed - when it is never shared, never championed, or never spoken of beyond the confines of gallery walls - it never gets to really live. But Adele van Heerden’s art is certainly in no danger of succumbing to such a fate. I mean, especially while it’s out in the world wrapped around a Lexus.

Like the waters of the Olifants River in Cederberg that inspired her recent body of work, Alluvial, Adele has cultivated an art career that is ever in motion. Her work has turned paint and pastel into breathtaking bodies of water that have rippled across countless exhibition walls, making waves in the eyes of procurers and appreciators of beautiful things. This momentum is a testament to her devotion to exploring the very depths of her craft by consistently refining her techniques, remaining a dedicated student of the waters that serve as her muse, and embracing the opportunity to collaborate with those who share her vision and are eager to expand upon it. That’s how Adele’s paintings from Alluvial made their way from inside the walls of the 131 A Gallery in Cape Town, where they were first unveiled, to the body of the Lexus RZ.

One of the ways that Lexus has shown their commitment to investing in the development of the arts in South Africa has been through their service as the official exclusive vehicle partner of the illustrious RMB Latitudes Art Fair - providing luxury transport for the artists and delegates in attendance and investing in artist collaborations and curatorial awards over the course of the Fair. This year, Lexus appointed the Lexus RZ, its first fully electric vehicle, as the hero car of the Fair’s chauffeur service. Selected pieces from Adele’s Alluvial exhibition were translated into bespoke vehicle wraps on two of the Lexus RZ chauffeur vehicles, transforming them into moving artworks that elevated the experience of movement between points of the fair with a refined and whisper-quiet driving experience that is conscious of the strive to preserve the natural world by opting for electric-powered travel.

“At Lexus, we believe design should be felt, not just seen,” said Tasneem Lorgat, General Manager, Marketing Communications at Lexus South Africa. “Our continued partnership with RMB Latitudes Art Fair reflects a shared commitment to meaningful, human-centered experiences, exceptional craftsmanship, and platforms that nurture long-term cultural value. Through the all-electric Lexus RZ and our collaboration with artist Adele van Heerden, we can express electrification not merely as advanced technology but as an emotional, immersive experience – where art, motion and design converge in quiet, considered harmony.”

When asked about what excited her about working with Lexus on their collaboration for the RMB Latitudes Art Fair, Adele said the following: “I deeply value and enjoy the opportunity to engage with ideas of accessibility in experiencing art, and to see how these collaborations and translations expand upon my visual language. Public spaces and city streets are as valid and visible a platform for my work as other forms of exhibition and presentation but, outside of the ‘white box’ of an art gallery, there’s a broader audience to connect with, and to breathe life into works, like “Glass” and “Warm” of mine, that are actively seeking this engagement as a form of animation.”

The paintings from Adele’s Alluvial exhibition and their translation onto the body of the Lexus RZ are an ideal embodiment of the Oasis theme that guided this year’s Fair - a theme that served as a reflection on the probability of creativity emerging from unlikely places. Paints and machinery, water and metal - two distinctly different experts of their crafts coming together to create a work of art that moves in ways neither of their works has before.

Alluvial matter - the source of this entire collaboration - consists of sediments of clay, silt, sand, or gravel that have been transported from higher-altitude areas via running water into bodies of water such as river beds. As a result of these different particles converging and moving together through their streams that run into their respective rivers, a new matter is formed that is essential to the ecosystem of those rivers - filtering their waters and enriching the soil beneath them with nutrients.

I suppose that speaks to why collaborations - such as the one between Adele van Heerden and Lexus - are as essential in the world of art as they are in nature: When different particles intersect and carry each other, they can form a rich, fertile soil for more things to grow. Just so long as everything stays moving and moving together.