Art has the power to take us all to different places and amazing things can happen when you take the time to stop and look. This year, Swatch has partnered with the world-famous Tate galleries to bring more art to more people through this year’s Swatch Art Journey with a brand-new range of masterpieces for your wrist to choose from.
Swatch invites you to take your time with your masterpiece, join us on the Swatch Art Journey 2024 and see where it takes you.
Swatch Art Journey 2024
The Swatch x Tate Gallery Collection reflects the essence of the Swatch brand in a way that none of its art collaborations have before. Our partnership represents a journey through time, genre and self- expression. The iconic artists and unique works chosen for this year’s collection reflect the boundary pushing, innovation, positive provocation, and joie de vivre that Swatch is known for.
The Swatch x Tate Gallery Collection
Swatch is also known for its long-standing love affair with art, bringing more art to more people, and giving wearers the time to express themselves through its unrivaled range of art-inspired watches. Tate is the perfect partner, known for its era- and genre-spanning collections and unique Tate Modern Lates program which invites everyone to be a part of the life of the museum.
By creating masterpieces for the wrist, Swatch is giving wearers the time to express themselves through their choice of watch – just as the artists expressed themselves through their works – to connect with others and start their own conversations.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Swatch and collaborating with a like-minded organisation to create a series of watches that bring Tate’s rich and diverse collection to an ever-wider audience,” Hamish Anderson, CEO of Tate Enterprises.
Turner’s Scarlet Sunset
JMW Turner is often described as ‘the father of modern art’ and is one of Britain’s greatest painters. His unique brushwork and use of color still surprise and delight today. His portrayals of the modern world were unlike any seen before. TURNER’S SCARLET SUNSET takes an iconic scene and focuses on the light and color throughout the whole watch. On the dial, the creative use of the calendar wheel brings additional depth, with the sun changing color across a 14-day period until the cycle begins again. Time spent with your Turner will take you seamlessly from sunrise to sunset.
Chagall’s Blue Circus
Known as an early modernist, Marc Chagall’s style combined many different influences. Fascinated by the colorful chaos of the circus, he described it as, ‘a magic show that appears and disappears like a world.’ The whimsical characters of the circus inspired Chagall’s art throughout his life. CHAGALL’S BLUE CIRCUS brings the circus to life through the vivid and vibrant blue across the strap and dial. A moon and an eye balanced on the ends of the hands bring the dynamism of the acrobats to life. A moment of dream- like magic with CHAGALL’S BLUE CIRCUS could take you to the big top – and beyond!
Miro’s Women and Bird in the Moonlight
Joan Mir was a Spanish painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. His distinctive style was influenced by Surrealism and other art movements of the era. Mir’s use of shapes and bright colors have personal and symbolic meaning, and his works often reflect Catalan pride and identity. MIRO’S WOMEN AND BIRD IN THE MOONLIGHT highlights the abstract and dials up the color with its joyful placement of the image across the dial and strap. Indexes printed on the glass stand out from the artwork adding depth and dimension. Whether the time you take to yourself is in the sunlight or the moonlight, Mir’s famous image will take you to your happy place.
Leger’s Two Women Holding Flowers
Fernand Lger belonged to the avant-garde movement in Paris in the early 20th century where he was associated with Cubism. He later became inspired by modern life, machinery and technology and developed a boldly simplistic style based on the separation between color and line: color is scattered across different parts of the canvas, separate to the drawing itself. Leger’s Two Women Holding Flowers focuses on the bold and brilliant color, bringing it into full focus across the strap and dial. Three different colored hands bring additional brightness. Take a moment to yourself and your Lger will take you back in time.
Matisse’s Snail
Henri Matisse, a French visual artist, helped revolutionize art in the early 20th century. In particular, he had a significant impact on painting. He created Fauvism, an influential bold style of painting using vivid colors and loose brushwork. In a career spanning over 50 years, his later works, including inventive paper cut-outs, are especially popular. Matisse’s Snail embraces the famous image on the dial, but also across the transparent strap. Cut loose and spend some time with Matisse’s famous cut-outs and see where it takes you.
Barns-Graham’s Orange And Red On Pink
British artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s paintings burst with rich colors and energetic, free-flowing brushwork. She wanted her art to express ‘a celebration of life…the joy and importance of color, texture, energy and vibrancy, with an awareness of space and construction.’ Her abstract works gradually became bolder and simpler, reflecting her love of living and life. Bold, black indexes are printed on the dial enhancing the powerful energy of this artwork. Barns-Graham’s Orange And Red On Pink reflects Swatch’s natural joie de vivre and invites you to take a moment to immerse yourself in a riot of color.
Bourgeois’s Spirals and Bourgeois’s Spirals Pay!
Best known for her large-scale sculptures and installations, French-American artist Louise Bourgeois was also a skilled painter and printmaker who frequently used spirals in her works. For her, their outward movement symbolized ‘giving, and giving up control, trust and positive energy….’ Sit back, relax, focus on the positive energy and allow Bourgeois’s Spirals to take you away from it all. Wherever the spirals take you, there’s also a SwatchPAY!-enabled version available in selected markets that makes secure payments a simple flick of the wrist.
The Swatch x Tate Gallery Collection will be available in Swatch stores worldwide and on swatch.com from March 21, as well as in Tate’s gallery shops and on shop.tate.org.uk.
About Tate
Tate celebrates the world’s greatest modern and contemporary art, as well as the best of British art from 1500 to today. Every year it welcomes millions of people to its four galleries – Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives – to enjoy unforgettable exhibitions, spectacular commissions and unique events. At the heart of these activities is a growing collection of over 70,000 works of art, ranging from paintings and sculptures to installations and performances. Tate cares for this collection on behalf of the public and, as one of the world’s biggest lenders of art, shares it with museums and galleries throughout the UK and across the globe. Find out more at www.tate.org.uk
About Swatch
Positive provocation and joie de vivre made in Switzerland: since its founding in 1983, Swatch has shaken up the watch industry. Thanks to its striking designs which always reflect the zeitgeist, Swatch remains one of the leading watch manufacturers and the most sought-after brands in the world – and has always stayed true to itself. The company surprises again and again, whether it be with regularly released new models or special collections. The revolutionary way in which Swatch thinks and acts has always been evident with its early involvement in action sports, such as BMX, skateboarding and surfing. The Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai embodies the brand’s love of art and brings together artists from around the world.
For more information, please visit www.swatch.com
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