Audemars Piguet to Unveil Concluding Lounge Design by Sebastian Errazuriz and New Artworks by Quayola at Art Basel in Hong Kong 2018
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
AUDEMARS PIGUET TO UNVEIL CONCLUDING LOUNGE DESIGN BY SEBASTIAN ERRAZURIZ AND NEW ARTWORKS BY QUAYOLA AT ART BASEL IN HONG KONG 2018 L: Sebastian Errazuriz, Foundations. Courtesy of Sebastian Errazuriz Studio and Audemars Piguet. R: Quayola, detail of Remains #C_021. Courtesy of the Artist and Audemars Piguet. Le Brassus, March 3rd 2018: Audemars Piguet is pleased to unveil the concluding design in a trilogy of lounge concepts by Chilean-born, New York-based artist and designer Sebastian Errazuriz, alongside new artworks by London-based, Italian visual artist Quayola, at Art Basel in Hong Kong. Errazuriz’s striking design will travel to all three Art Basel shows in 2018, a venue where Audemars Piguet has presented innovative concepts in the Collectors Lounge since 2013. Titled Foundations, Errazuriz’s immersive design for 2018 is based on iron ore, the natural resource at the heart of steel and one of the principal resources for watchmakers. The dynamic installation suspends hundreds of 3D-printed, scanned, and hand-moulded rocks moving in perfect synchrony and evoking the Vallée de Joux, home of Audemars Piguet in the Swiss Jura Mountains. This design evolves from the previous lounge concepts which were inspired by two other core natural materials native to the Vallée de Joux — ice (Ice Cycle, 2016) and wood (Second Nature, 2017). Similarly, Quayola’s new photographic series, titled Remains: Vallée de Joux, unifies the natural roots of Audemars Piguet with his own visual artistry. The work transports viewers to the landscape of the Vallée where Quayola’s visual images were crafted. Throughout 2018, Quayola’s artwork on the lounge will evolve, concluding in December at Art Basel in Miami Beach with the reveal of a new moving-image artwork: Promenade, a video diptych captured through drone technology and high-precision scanning. Quayola’s works use recent hi-tech innovations to help viewers see the natural world in alternative ways, while his techniques reflect the careful craftsmanship and precision of watchmaking. Audemars Piguet’s engagement with Errazuriz and Quayola illustrates the watchmaker’s commitment to nurturing long-term relationships with artists, as well as the Manufacture’s enduring dedication to supporting craft and creative innovation. Audemars Piguet is pleased to work once again with Sebastian Errazuriz who has been creating lounge concepts for Audemars Piguet since 2016, and with Quayola, who first collaborated with the Manufacture in 2012 for the exhibition commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the iconic Royal Oak watch. Artist and designer Sebastian Errazuriz said: “I have loved being able to create and collaborate on a three- part design with Audemars Piguet. The material elements at the core of the project— ice, water, and this year, iron ore— are all integral to their roots. Foundations has a multiplicity of meanings. The foundation is where everything begins, where the new time starts, and where energy and movement come alive. It’s also a reference to the founders of the Manufacture and the family legacy that is so beautifully kept alive today.” Visual artist Quayola said: “Remains: Vallée de Joux and Promenade represent the latest iteration of my ongoing focus on nature and the tradition of landscape painting. I’m interested in the differences between human perception and machine vision and I explore new aesthetics that go beyond our senses and the historic tradition of landscape painting. The result is a series of ultra-high definition digital images that give pause for us to rethink depictions of the landscape today, with admiration for the Vallée de Joux.” Olivier Audemars, Vice President of the Board of Directors, said: “It gives us great pleasure and pride to present works by Sebastian and Quayola once again, marking a continuity in Audemars Piguet’s relationship with two innovative artists whose concepts directly parallel the artisanal quality and craftsmanship at the heart of our heritage. Our partnership is a natural fit, given both artists’ many similarities with the tradition of watchmaking: creative innovation, technical mastery, skilful precision, and a dedication to creating beauty in their work.” Visuals & press release available under: https://audemarspiguet.picturepark.com/Go/5V3sZPWL Join the #APxArt #AudemarsPiguet & #ArtBasel discussions @AudemarsPiguet. Follow us on: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/audemarspiguet Google+: http://plus.google.com/+audemarspiguet Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/audemarspiguet http://www.instagram.com/AudemarsPiguetSavoirFaire LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/audemars-piguet Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AudemarsPiguet Weibo: http://e.weibo.com/audemarspiguetchina Youku: http://i.youku.com/aptvofficial YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/audemarspiguet Notes to Editors Audemars Piguet Audemars Piguet is the oldest fine watchmaking manufacturer still in the hands of its founding families (Audemars and Piguet). Since 1875, the company has written some of the finest chapters in the history of Haute Horlogerie, including a number of world firsts. In the Vallée de Joux, at the heart of the Swiss Jura, numerous masterpieces are created in limited series embodying a remarkable degree of horological perfection, including daring sporty models, classic and traditional timepieces, splendid ladies’ jewellery-watches, as well as one-of-a-kind creations. www.audemarspiguet.com Audemars Piguet and Art Audemars Piguet has always sought to integrate creative vision with superb artistry and technical mastery. Pursuing its commitment to ingenuity, innovation, and a spirit of independence, in 2013, Audemars Piguet formed a partnership with Art Basel, supporting the world’s premier contemporary art shows in Hong Kong, Basel and Miami Beach. Since, Audemars Piguet has presented innovative concepts at all three Art Basel shows, inviting artists to creatively interpret Audemars Piguet’s heritage and origins. At the crux of this involvement is the Audemars Piguet Art Commission. The Commission, first announced in May 2014, draws inspiration from the craftsmanship and technical excellence inherent to Audemars Piguet’s legacy of watchmaking. Every year, an artist-curator duo is selected to realise a new artwork which explores complexity and precision, while enlisting contemporary creative practice, complex mechanics, technology, and science. By inviting artists to push the limits of technical virtuosity and scientific ingenuity, the Audemars Piguet Art Commission forges a link between the traditions of Haute Horlogerie and art. Recipients are given carte blanche to realize each artistic commission. Audemars Piguet provides full financial support for each commission and access to specialised expertise required to realise the artwork. The first Commission, unveiled to coincide with Art Basel in Basel 2015, was created by Swiss artist and composer Robin Meier, and curated by Marc-Olivier Wahler. Synchronicity explored the underlying mathematical rules of self- organization among seemingly unrelated components: fireflies, computers, crickets, sounds and electromagnetic pendulums. In 2016, Audemars Piguet announced Sun Xun as the second artist for the Audemars Piguet Art Commission. Considered one of China’s rising young talents, Sun Xun unveiled a large-scale immersive bamboo installation and 3D film titled Reconstruction of the Universe, comprised of tens of thousands of hand-carved woodblocks, on the oceanfront at Art Basel in Miami Beach 2016. The following year, Los Angeles-based, multidisciplinary artist Lars Jan was selected for the third Audemars Piguet Art Commission. His large-scale Slow- Moving Luminaries installation, curated by Kathleen Forde, was also realised on the oceanfront at Art Basel in Miami Beach 2017 and explored topics of oscillations, including time, memory and the climate. Audemars Piguet will be announcing the fourth Art Commission during Art Basel in Hong Kong 2018. Parallel to the Commission, Audemars Piguet supports annual projects whereby artists create works that offer their own, highly personal interpretation of the company’s cultural and geographical origins. Of a smaller scale when compared to the Commission, these projects testify to the deep and fertile dialogue between two areas of creative endeavor—contemporary artists and watch makers. These projects are emblematic of the company’s most deeply held values. In 2013, Audemars Piguet commissioned the first of these projects: new photographic works by British photographer Dan Holdsworth. It also worked with Galerie Perrotin on Curiosity, a pop- up installation by French art duo Kolkoz for Art Basel in Miami Beach 2013. At Art Basel’s 2014 show in Hong Kong, Audemars Piguet unveiled a new panoramic film specially created by Austrian videographer Kurt Hentschläger. For Art Basel’s 2014 show in Miami Beach, Audemars Piguet helped to create an international sensation by partnering with the Peabody Essex Museum to co-present Theo Jansen’s Strandbeest, animal-like kinetic sculptures which harnessed wind power to walk along the seashore in Miami Beach. In 2015, Audemars Piguet presented an eco-wall of living mosses combined with a sound installation named Wild Constellations by Geneva based artist Alexandre Joly. In 2016, the brand presented its new exhibition at the Yuz Museum in Shanghai, which displayed original video-works by Chinese artist Cheng Ran. Starting in 2016, Sebastian Errazuriz’s dynamic lounge designs have complemented Audemars Piguet’s presentation in the lounge