Haute News: Hublot Announces Contemporary Artist Daniel Arsham As New Ambassador

To mark the beginning of his partnership with Hublot, Daniel Arsham created a 20-meter sundial installation in the Zermatt snowscape.

Photo Credit: Hublot

Hublot continues its quest to push boundaries and collaborate with unique figures within pop culture by announcing New York-based contemporary artist, Daniel Arsham, as its latest ambassador.

Arsham has frequently explored the concept of time throughout many of his works, particularly through his Connecting Time series of works and his iconic Hourglass. Fittingly enough, the contemporary artist kicked off the exciting new partnership with an art installation specifically inspired by Hublot. Arsham’s 20-meter sundial is located 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 installation is called “Light & Time,” and uses natural elements to blend 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.

Photo Credit: Hublot

“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 matchmaking, design and craft,” said Arsham. “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.”

Photo Credit: Hublot

This year is important to Arsham as 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. The exciting new partnership could not have been timed more masterfully.

“We’ve been hoping this day would come,” expressed Ricardo Guadalupe, Hublot CEO. “Daniel Arsham is one of the most exciting creative talentsworking in contemporary art today and we’re so excited to welcome him into the Hublot Family and call him a Hublot Ambassador. His bold, audacious, groundbreaking portfolio of work is a perfect match for Hublot and our approach to watch creation: first, unique, different. We’ve no doubt this will become a hugely productive collaboration and we can’t wait to explore it further with Daniel and with Hublot and art fans.”

Photo Credit: Hublot