Audemars Piguet unveils its stand at Art Basel 2018

Audemars Piguet unveiled 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 the watchmaking brand 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. The brand of Le Brassus 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 Royal Oak watch.

May 17, 2018