{"id":14398,"date":"2023-03-14T08:42:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-14T07:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.my-watchsite.com\/blog\/?p=14398"},"modified":"2023-05-23T10:09:28","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T08:09:28","slug":"time-for-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.my-watchsite.com\/blog\/time-for-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Time for art"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The new \u201cSwatch Art Journey\u201d collection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Supporting and entering the world of art through exclusive partnerships and sponsorships has always been a way for watchmaking brands to establish their cultural status. Swatch, the Biel manufacturer which will celebrate in 2023 the 40th<\/sup> anniversary of the \u201cVulgaris\u201d \u2013 first prototype of coloured plastic watch created by Nicolas Hayek during designers Marlyse Schmid and Bernard Muller\u2019s 1983 contest \u2013 is no exception. The brand quickly adopted this strategy and cleverly reinterpreted some of the most important pieces in art history to fit the wrists of many.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Artistic DNA<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1985, Swatch launched its \u201cSwatch Art Special\u201d program. For this project, popular artists were to use their unique sense of aesthetics and visuals to design a Swatch watch and hereby invent the concept of collaboration between a watchmaker, a museum and famous artists. The first watch from this special edition to meet the Swatch Art Special specifications was designed by French artist Christian Chapiron, also known as Kiki Picasso. It was limited to 140 pieces and is now considered one of the most coveted Swatch pieces by collectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Design inspired by Christian Chapiron, also known as Kiki Picasso.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Then in 1986, New Yorker and pop–<\/em>art artist Keith Haring also challenged himself to the task of designing four watches. Story says Swatch turned to him after being rejected by Andy Warhol. Other collaborations also worthy of mentioning: Mimmo Paladino in 1989, Alfred Hofkunst in 1991, Sam Francis in 1992 and Yoko Ono and Anna Leibovitz in 1996.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Designs inspired by Keith Haring.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Swatch\u2019s artistic DNA was brought to light in 2011, with the opening of the Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai where various artists from around the world gathered for periods of three to six months. Residents from a wide range of disciplines, who are all united under one same goal: to create, to collaborate and to display their art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Designs inspired by Alfred Hofkunst.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since then, the brand has collaborated multiple times, for example when it became the main partner of the Biennale Arte in Venice for six editions or when it designed the most unique watches in collaboration with museums and international institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Coronation of Napoleon<\/em> by Jacques-Louis David (1807) \u2013 Neoclassicism.

<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Swatch collaborated with the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Madrid, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Louvre Museum in Paris and last year, the Centre Pompidou, to name but a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2022 collaboration between Swatch and the Centre Pompidou.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Continuing its artistic engagement, the Maison recently unveiled seven new creations as part of the \u201cSwatch Art Journey\u201d collection with pieces from the MoMA, the Magritte Museum, the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Galerie des Offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swatch Art Journey, an artist quartet<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First, Swatch features and celebrates Hokusai with The<\/em> Great<\/em> Wave<\/em> off<\/em> Kanagawa<\/em>, a woodblock print created in 1830 and now the most famous Japanese art piece in the world. The front of the watch displays a detail from the famous wave, and the back reveals an astrolabe design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Swatch collaborated with the Louvre Abu Dhabi to create a watch on the edge of two worlds: Japanese artist Hokusai\u2019s wave and Muhammad ibn Ahmad Al-Batt\u00fbt\u00ee’s astrolabe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another artist who inspired a design for this collection: surrealist Ren\u00e9 Magritte, who would often assign an extraordinary role to ordinary objects. Simplicity and deception through images, a perfect match with the two watches dedicated to him in the new collection. The first watch revisited the famous 1964 painting Le<\/em> Fils<\/em> de<\/em> l\u2019homme <\/em>(The Son<\/em> of<\/em> Man<\/em>), with the sentence \u201cCeci est une Swatch avec une pomme\u201d (\u201cThis is a Swatch with an apple\u201d) displayed on the strap to reference his famous quote \u201cCeci n\u2019est pas une pipe\u201d (\u201cThis is not a pipe\u201d), which is displayed on the second watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 Le Fils de l\u2019Homme<\/em> and La<\/em> Trahison<\/em> des<\/em> Images<\/em> (The<\/em> Treachery<\/em> of<\/em> Images<\/em>) by Ren\u00e9 Magritte.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Then, two other watches celebrate the 100th<\/sup> anniversary of the late Roy Lichtenstein\u2019s birth, with a reinterpretation of The<\/em> Melody<\/em> Haunts<\/em> My<\/em> Reverie<\/em>, a 1965 screenprint, and Girl<\/em> from 1963.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Girl <\/em>and Reverie<\/em> by Roy Lichtenstein.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we have designs from Florence, Italy, with a tribute to Sandro Botticelli\u2019s two major masterpieces in art history. First, The<\/em> Birth<\/em> of<\/em> Venus<\/em> is displayed on a dial with Zephyrus, God of wind and his wife, embracing each other in the sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Allegoria<\/em> Della<\/em> Primavera<\/em> (Spring) and Nascita<\/em> Di<\/em> Venere<\/em> (The Birth of Venus<\/em>) by Sandro Botticelli.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Second, Swatch reinvented Spring<\/em>, decorating the dial with plants and fruits from the beautiful garden of the original painting. The goddess Flora sprinkles flowers all over the strap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GIRL BY ROY LICHTENSTEIN – \u20ac105
REVERIE BY ROY LICHTENSTEIN – \u20ac95
LE FILS DE L\u2019HOMME BY RENE MAGRITTE – \u20ac105
LA TRAHISON DES IMAGES BY RENE MAGRITTE – \u20ac105
THE GREAT WAVE OFF KANAWAGA – \u20ac105
NASCITA DI VENERE BY SANDRO BOTTICELLI – \u20ac95
ALLEGORIA DELLA PRIMAVERA BY BOTTICELLI – \u20ac105 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SWATCH WATCHES WEBSITE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

See also:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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