Swiss watchmaker, Hublot, continues its quest to be first, unique by announcing the American contemporary artist Daniel Arsham as a new Ambassador. Based in New York City, Daniel is known for his powerful works across painting, sculpture, installation, and film.
He has frequently explored the concept of time throughout his oeuvre, particularly through his Connecting Time series of works and his iconic Hourglass.
To start the clock on the new collaboration and to celebrate the eternal links between watchmaking, art and craft, Daniel will unveil a temporary 20-metre sundial in the snowscape of the Swiss mountain resort of Zermatt, in the shadows of the Matterhorn, the most recognizable peak in the Swiss Alps.
The ephemeral installation, titled Light & Time uses natural elements to merge the roots of timekeeping with the craftsmanship in land art. The functioning outdoor timekeeping installation is based on the shadows cast by the quartz crystal shaped obelisk. As the sun moves throughout the day, the shadow cast by the central pointer indicates the time in the raked snow.
Arsham has blended form and function, creating the sundial out of the natural elements in the Swiss Alps. In this way, snow and light are combined to connect his own crystalized universe with the heritage and history within Hublot’s Swiss watchmaking craft. The sundial will echo Hublot’s design language, integrating familiar cues such as the famous screws that hold the Big Bang’s bezel in place. The installation will also come with a twist: it will only be visible from the top of the mountain. To view it, art lovers will have to use Zermatt’s ski lifts.
Speaking on the partnership, Daniel Arsham said: “I’ve been watching Hublot and the projects it has supported in the contemporary art space with great interest for many years, and admired its audacious approach to watchmaking, design and craft. The Art of Fusion remains one of the smartest projects in watchmaking. I love how Hublot crafts ideas, influences and materials together to create unique, defining forms.
“It is of course a special moment joining the Hublot Family and I’m super curious to execute the Hublot x Daniel Arsham sundial project in Zermatt. Physically, the temporary installation will capture something of how fleeting time can feel, but it will also be lasting, creating a memory that transcends the passing of the seconds, minutes, hours and days in all those who make the journey up the mountain to see it.”
This year is a significant year for Daniel. It marks 20 years since he was awarded the Gelman Trust Fellowship Award and won the prestigious GNMH Award, bringing him to the attention of the art world. He has since become one of the industry’s most influential and in-demand contemporary artists.
He studied at Cooper Union in New York and has exhibited in New York, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai, Los Angeles and London, and counts among his past collaborators fashion designer Hedi Slimane, artistic director of Dior Kim Jones, Porsche and Pokémon. His work is known for what commentators have described as a ‘mythical contemporary archeology’, whereby he takes familiar forms and erodes or reforms them.
Video – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2016403/LIGHT_AND_TIME_Installation.mp4
