Taru Lahti

While at Center for Creative Studies in 1987 Taru Lahti started Propeller Studio with two classmates. Propeller Studio was a Detroit-based collective formed as a multidisciplinary art group.

Taru received a B.F.A. in 1989 from The Center for Creative Studies. Specializing in automotive design, he accepted a position with Ford Motor Company in their International Studio. In 1990 he was chosen to design the exterior for a four-door luxury concept car for Ford: the “Contour”. This was the first show car he designed, and it debuted at the 1991 Detroit International Auto Show, where it was selected as “Best Concept Car” that year. In that same year he was sent to Turin, Italy where Ford’s prestigious Ghia Design Studio is located. In Italy, he was asked to design a two-door sports car for the Turin Auto Show. His design, the “Ghia Focus”, debuted in March of 1992 to critical acclaim and won “Best in Show” that same year.

In 2001, Taru began creating metal canvases - a new type of painting canvas. This nascent process of cutting, forming, fastening, and welding sheet metal together brings a three-dimensional dynamic of depth, surface tension, and an overall visual lightness to the “canvas”. Taru uses a combination of invented methods and technique, formal and sometimes unconventional, which produces an unforeseen contemporary effect. A final noteworthy trait of the metal canvases is the beautiful shadow patterns projected on walls from multiple light sources.

Taru has exhibited his artwork in New York, Japan, Detroit including the Detroit Institute of Arts, and has been featured in international magazines & books.