# How to Commission a Kinetic Sculpture for a Brand Exhibition or Store > A kinetic sculpture is an artwork whose message is its motion. To commission one, fix the run profile, the venue limits and the idea the motion must express before design starts. MLABART's project records show about 64 to 87 days from production to installation on two projects. **Published:** 2026-10-11 - **By:** MLABART ## What is a kinetic sculpture, and when does a brand need one? A kinetic sculpture is a physical artwork whose meaning is carried by controlled motion: units that rise and fall, arms that orbit, pendulums that swing. It belongs to the wider family of kinetic installations, which also includes functional motion such as lifting LED reveal stages and rotating screens. The difference is purpose. In a reveal stage the motion serves the product moment; in a kinetic sculpture the motion is the work. Brands choose one when the story is about precision, materials or time, and a screen would undersell it. ROLEX's "Oyster Story" exhibition in Shanghai used a mirror-polished stainless-steel "time machine" built by MLABART instead of a film. A kinetic sculpture also earns its cost when it has to hold attention for weeks, as an exhibition centrepiece or a store display, rather than for one evening. ## Which kinetic sculpture formats suit brand spaces? Most brand commissions fall into four families. Each family has its own engineering problems, so naming the family early makes the first supplier conversation much faster. | Format | How it moves | Typical setting | Reference | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Lifting matrix or sphere array | Hundreds of suspended units on individual lines rise and fall in programmed waves and formations | Exhibition halls, atriums, launch rooms | LANCÔME Absolue, ~1,350 units; CHLITINA gold mirrored sphere array (MLABART) | | Rotating or orbiting mechanism | A disc, ring or articulated arms turn continuously with precise timing | Luxury exhibitions, flagship centrepieces | ROLEX "Oyster Story" time machine (MLABART) | | Pendulum and Newton's cradle | Bodies swing, collide or pass through moving openings | Store windows and long-running retail displays | JACK & JONES x NBA, three retail pieces (MLABART) | | Flip-pixel wall or figure | Small two-faced blocks turn on their own motors to draw an image | Facades, resort and mall atriums | MGM COTAI kinetic lion -- not an MLABART project; see our MGM explainer | - [ROLEX "Oyster Story" -- kinetic time-machine sculpture](/work/rolex-oyster-story/) - [LANCÔME Absolue -- 1,350-unit kinetic matrix](/work/lancome-mechanical-matrix/) - [JACK & JONES x NBA -- three kinetic sculptures for retail](/work/jj-nba-newton-pendulum/) - [CHLITINA -- kinetic sphere array at Shanghai Tower](/work/chlitina-dealer-summit-2026/) - [MGM in Macau -- how the flipping-pixel lion works](/insights/mgm-macau-digital-art-spectacle-poly-mgm-museum/) - ![Side view of the golden LANCÔME Absolue kinetic matrix room, with suspended units above a circular floor motif and a visitor for scale.](https://mlabart.com/cases/lancome-mechanical-matrix/04.webp) -- Lifting matrix: LANCÔME Absolue exhibition, Shanghai, about 1,350 moving units. MLABART project. - ![Transit pendulum passing through a pink rotating disc with three openings, inside the JACK & JONES x NBA store display in Shanghai.](https://mlabart.com/cases/jj-nba-newton-pendulum/03.webp) -- Pendulum: transit pendulum for JACK & JONES x NBA, Shanghai. MLABART project. ## What should you decide before design starts? A kinetic sculpture is sized by how long and how hard it runs, and by what the building can carry. Settle these points with the supplier before any concept drawing is approved: - The idea the motion must express -- one sentence the whole team agrees on, such as "time and precision" for ROLEX. - The run profile: show dates, hours per day and number of days. A one-day summit and a three-month store display need different drivetrains. - Venue limits: ceiling height, suspension or floor load limits, and a clearance envelope that covers the full range of motion. - Power at the drive position, and where the control cabinet can sit with service access. - A safety zone around moving parts, agreed with the venue, and how close the public may stand. - Synchronisation: whether motion has to run on one timeline with LED content, lighting or sound. - Afterlife: whether the piece must tour, be re-skinned for another market or be stored. Modularity is cheap at design stage and expensive afterwards. ## How long does a kinetic sculpture take to build? Plan in months, not weeks. Two MLABART project records give real numbers. The LANCÔME Absolue kinetic matrix took about 60 days of production, 20 days of testing and seven days of on-site installation and commissioning. The three JACK & JONES x NBA retail sculptures took about 45 days of production, 14 days of testing and five days of installation. Testing is the phase that clients most often try to cut, and it is the one that protects show day. The ROLEX time machine was run as a complete machine before shipping and then ran about ten hours a day for 19 days with no reported faults. - ![Bar chart of two MLABART kinetic sculpture builds from project records. LANCÔME Absolue kinetic matrix: about 60 days production, 20 days testing, 7 days installation, about 87 days in all. JACK & JONES x NBA three retail sculptures: about 45 days production, 14 days testing, 5 days installation, about 64 days in all.](https://mlabart.com/insights/how-to-commission-a-kinetic-sculpture/build-timeline.svg) -- Days from MLABART project records; approximate. Diagram by MLABART. ## How do you judge a kinetic sculpture company? The best predictor is evidence of pieces that ran in public for as long as yours must. Ask every shortlisted company for the same things: - Video of finished pieces running on site, not renders or factory clips alone. - Who designs the mechanism, who fabricates and who programs the motion -- in house or subcontracted. - How the drivetrain was sized against the run profile, and what continuous-running test happens before shipping. - Structural calculations for suspension or floor loads, and the safety-zone proposal for the venue. - On-site support during the run, spare parts on site, and the response time if a unit stops. - Whether the company can work behind your agency's creative, or only on its own concepts. ## Where MLABART fits MLABART is a Shanghai creative technology studio for which kinetic sculpture is a long-standing specialty. The team takes a piece from mechanism design and fabrication through workshop testing to on-site installation and show-period support, for ROLEX, LANCÔME, JACK & JONES x NBA, CHLITINA and others. It works directly with brands or as the engineering and fabrication partner behind an agency's concept. For projects outside China, pieces are built and tested in China, shipped, and reinstalled on site with MLABART technicians. ## FAQ ### What is the difference between a kinetic sculpture and a kinetic installation? A kinetic sculpture is a single artwork whose meaning is its motion, such as ROLEX's mirror-steel time machine. Kinetic installation is the wider category, which also covers functional motion like lifting LED reveal stages and rotating screens. ### How long does it take to build a custom kinetic sculpture? Plan in months. MLABART's records show about 60 days of production, 20 of testing and 7 of installation for the LANCÔME Absolue matrix, and about 45, 14 and 5 days for three JACK & JONES x NBA retail pieces. ### Can a kinetic sculpture run every day in a store? Yes, if the drivetrain is sized for that duty cycle from the start. The JACK & JONES x NBA pieces were built for long-term store use, with scheduled daily operation matched to the store's opening hours. ### Can a kinetic sculpture be built in China and installed overseas? Yes. MLABART builds and tests the piece in China, ships it and reinstalls it on site with its own technicians. Decide on this before design, because shipping sizes and modular joints shape the structure. ## Related Pages **See also:** [Kinetic Sculptures & Installations](https://mlabart.com/solutions/kinetic-mechanical-installations/) | [Light Art & Audiovisual Installations](https://mlabart.com/solutions/light-art-installations/) | [Product Launch Reveal Stages](https://mlabart.com/solutions/product-launch-reveals/) | [Mall Interactive Installations & Pop-ups](https://mlabart.com/solutions/mall-popup-activations/) --- **MLABART** -- Interaction - Imagination - Innovation MLABART is an interactive installation and interactive software development studio. We design, program and deliver interactive installations -- motion-sensing games, touch and AI experiences, interactive LED walls, projection mapping, naked-eye 3D and kinetic sculptures -- for mall and New Year's Eve countdown campaigns, trade-show booths and launches, and brand pop-ups, from concept and custom software through fabrication and on-site delivery. - Web: https://mlabart.com - Email: mark@touchworld-sh.com - Phone / WhatsApp: +86 18917292695 - Canonical HTML version: https://mlabart.com/insights/how-to-commission-a-kinetic-sculpture/