HUBLOT ANNOUNCES CONTEMPORARY ARTIST DANIEL ARSHAM AS A NEW AMBASSADOR

To begin the collaboration, Daniel Arsham will create a Hublot-inspired 20-metre sundial in the Zermatt snowscape in Schwarzee, at 2583m.

Hublot loves Daniel Arsham! The Swiss watchmaker continues its quest to be first, unique and different by announcing the American contemporary artist Daniel Arsham as a new Ambassador. Based in New York City, Daniel is known for his powerful works across film, painting,sculpture and installation. He has frequently explored the concept of time throughout his oeuvre, particularly through his Connecting Time series of works and his iconic Hourglass.

To start the clock on the new collaboration and to celebrate the eternal links between watchmaking, art and craft, Daniel will unveil a 20-metre sundial 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, titled Light & Time uses natural elements to merge 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. Arsham has blended form and function, creating the sundial out of the natural elements in the Swiss Alps. In this way, snow and light are combined to connect his own crystalized universe with the heritage and history within Hublot’s Swiss watchmaking craft. The sundial will echo Hublot’s design language, integrating familiar cues such as the famous screws that hold the Big Bang’s bezel in place. The installation will also come with a twist: it will only be visible from the top of the mountain. To view it, art lovers will have to use Zermatt’s ski lifts.

This year is a significant year for Daniel. 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. He has since become one of the industry’s most influential and in-demand contemporary artists. He studied at Cooper Union in New York and has exhibited in New York, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai, Los Angeles and London, and counts among his past collaborators fashion designer Hedi Slimane, artistic director of Dior Kim Jones, Porsche and Pokémon. His work is known for what commentators have described as a ‘mythical contemporary archeology’, whereby he takes familiar forms and erodes or reforms them.

Zermatt was a natural location to explore the collaboration with Daniel. It’s a Hublot town! The wood-panelled, chalet-style Hublot Boutique Zermatt sets the tone, while the resort carries Hublot signage and keeps time by Hublot clocks. Visitors use the Hublot-Express high-speed chairlift that climbs 954 metres up the mountain to top station. On four occasions since 2017, Hublot has introduced limited-edition watches celebrating the loyal bond that ties Hublot and Zermatt together.

Hublot’s connections with the art world run deep, too. In 2021, the company celebrated 10 years of ‘Hublot Loves Art’. Daniel Arsham joins the Hublot Family of Ambassadors from the worlds of art and music, alongside luminaries such as Richard Orlinski, Takashi Murakami, Maxime Plescia-Buchi, Lang Lang and Samuel Ross.