164 GQ.COM.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017ART, DESIGN AND WELL-CRAFTED TIMEPIECES HAVE
A LOT IN COMMON FOR THE FAMED WATCHMAKER.Audemars Piguet does
ART BASEL
S
ome things are under your
eyes every day,” says Olivier
Audemars. “But it can take an
artist with a fresh perspective
to help you see what was in
front of you all along.”
The small Swiss village of Le Brassus
in the Vallée de Joux has been home to
Audemars Piguet – one of the most
celebrated and revered mechanical
watchmakers – since 1875.
The brand’s relationship with time and
nature is deeply rooted within this
mountainside idyll. Since 2012, this bond has
been the focus of a series of art commissions- AP invites visual artists, architects and
filmmakers to visit its home to explore the
patterns found within its landscape.
Only a few hours’ drive away, at the annual
Art Basel exhibition (of which AP is
a partner), Olivier Audemars is
enthusiastically introducing his latest
collaborations. As the great-grandson of
the company’s co-founder, and a long-
standing board member, Audemars is
profoundly attached to Le Brassus, and
has been instrumental in the brand’s swing
towards the arts.
Along with its sister events in Miami and
Hong Kong, Art Basel is the largest and most
important contemporary art fair of its kind
and this year AP is presenting a new
Collector’s Lounge created by Chilean artist
and designer Sebastian Errazuriz.
Having created a space reflecting the
forests native to the Vallée de Joux,
the centrepiece for Errazuriz’s booth is
an intricately sculpted tree, made from wood,
but carved by robotic arms. Entitled ‘Second
Nature’, the piece is designed to evolve and
grow with the seasons. For Art Basel in Basel,
the tree’s bare branches have buds, whilst in
Miami in December, flowers will be added.
“Trees in the ancient primary forestaround Le Brassus were used by the famous
violin maker Stradivarius for his
instruments,” explains Errazuriz. “After
careful cultivation and preservation for
generations, one in 10,000 trees were
considered to hold the right qualities to be
turned into one of his masterpieces.” WORDS: TIMOTHY-ANSCOMBE-BELL.