Swiss Haute Horlogerie Manufacture Audemars Piguet celebrated the announcement of Lars Jan as the 3rd artist selected for the Audemars Piguet Art Commission. They also presented their new lounge concept Second Nature in presence of designer Sebastian Errazuriz during the 2017 Art Basel show in Basel. The festivities for the week included a press conference on the lounge and a dinner in honour of the artists hosted by Chairwoman of the Board Jasmine Audemars and Vice-Chairman of the Board Olivier Audemars.
The evening began with a cocktail-reception at HeK (House of electronic Arts, Basel), where guests were welcomed by Sabine Himmelsbach, Director of HeK and member of the Audemars Piguet art advisory council. Guests were then invited to walk to Oslo Studios where they discovered the original and immersive table setting created especially for the brand’s private dinner. Electronically lit trees seemed to be growing on the walls of the venue as an homage to the Vallée de Joux and to the lounge’s tree-sculpture, while decorations of both tables reminded the guests of the forests and nature surrounding the Manufacture’s home. After a warm welcome by Tim Sayler, Chief Marketing Officer of the company, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, Olivier Audemars stated: “Artists and artisans are close cousins, the only difference between us is that we see things differently. And that’s why Audemars Piguet is so grateful to be able to collaborate with people like Sebastian, Cheng Ran and Lars. Thanks to them we are able to rediscover our origins and learn from each other through different points of view”.
Audemars Piguet have collaborated with Chilean artist and designer Sebastian Errazuriz on their booth concept for the Collectors Lounge since 2016. This year, Errazuriz created a space reflecting the forests native to the home of the Swiss watchmaker in the Vallée de Joux, including a large scale sculpture of a tree created from wood, using both traditional techniques and cutting-edge technologies. Designed to evolve with the seasons, Audemars Piguet unveiled the booth in a new form as the bare branches have started budding, representing growth and forward thinking, while the roots convey tradition and heritage. The final evolution of the booth will be presented during Art Basel in Miami Beach 2017.
A video installation by Chinese artist Cheng Ran entitled Circadian Rhythm was also presented on the lounge.The artwork transported hundreds of viewers on a visual journey between landscape, soundscape and into the heart of watchmaking, while a subtle soundtrack guided the visitors on this experience where natural sounds intertwined with mechanical watch beats.
Audemars Piguet also announced that Lars Jan will create the 3rd Audemars Piguet Art Commission. Jan’s varied skill set has seen him act as designer, activist, photographer, director, writer and visual artist and he is the founder of Early Morning Opera, a genre-bending performance and art lab whose works explore emerging technologies, live audiences, and unclassifiable experience, reflecting his background in progressive activism. The multidisciplinary artist is working with guest curator Kathleen Forde, to create a major new artwork which will be unveiled by Audemars Piguet during Art Basel in Miami Beach in December 2017.
