Surrealist Art And Renaissance Masterpieces Pop Up On Swatch Watches
Swatch turns to art legends from Sandro Botticelli to Rene Magritte for its latest edition of the Art Journey collection.
By Wong Kim Hoh,
Swatch is dropping yet another series of watches in its Art Journey Collection, this time featuring celebrated works from the collections of famous art museums and institutions, including New York’s Moma (Museum of Modern Art) and Brussels’ Fondation Magritte.
Between March and May, five capsule collections will be unveiled. The first lot of “wearable art” comprises seven masterpieces in the brand’s iconic Gent and New Gent watch models, celebrating famous artists Roy Lichtenstein, Rene Magritte, Sandro Botticelli and Katsushika Hokusai.
The Swatch x Moma pair of watches, for instance, commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of Lichtenstein, the American pop artist famed for his colourful comic-book style art. He was also synonymous with the use of small dots – known as Ben-Day dots – to add colour to his works. The pair of watches reproduce two of his most famous works: Girl (1963), housed in a 41mm electric blue New Gent model; and Reverie (1965) in a 34mm canary-yellow Gent model.
Meanwhile, the Swatch x Magritte models celebrate the late Belgian artist’s La Trahison Des Images (The Treachery Of Images, 1929), which features a pipe on the dial and the phrase “This Is Not A Pipe” (the watchmaker also cheekily added This Is A Swatch) on the strap; and Le Fils De L’homme (The Son Of Man, 1964), the iconic work featuring a man in a bowler hat whose face is obscured by a green apple.
Scroll on for a look at the pieces.
The Great Wave by Hokusai & Astrolabe plastic watch on silicone strap, $150 (available from April 13)
This article is adapted from a story that first appeared in The Straits Times