daniel arsham sculpts swiss alps with an icy timepiece for hublot

frozen in time: daniel arsham in zermatt

With a snowy installation in Zermatt, the Swiss watchmakers at Hublot celebrate the start of an artist collaboration with New Yorker Daniel Arsham. The larger-than-life timepiece entitled ‘Light & Time’ takes shape as an Hublot-inspired sundial measuring twenty-meters in diameter. An icy work of sculptural land art, the installation can be discovered at Schwarzee, a site backdropped by the iconic Matterhorn peak with an altitude of 2,583 meters (8,475 feet). The work can only be viewed in full from above, a perspective which can be achieved from the top of the mountain following a ride up Zermatt’s ski lifts.

The artwork has been presented as part of Hublot’s announcement of the American contemporary artist as its new Ambassador.

images courtesy Hublot

land art for hublot is icy and precise

Daniel Arsham’s ‘Light & Time’ installation for Hublot an ephemeral and ever-changing example of land art, a blend of function and sculptural form. As the sun moves throughout the day, shadows cast by the quartz crystal shaped obelisk indicate the time. The sundial is made up of the natural elements of snow and light, emphasizing the connection between the artist‘s crystalized universe and the heritage and history of the watchmaker‘s craft. The sundial echoes Hublot’s design language by incorporating familiar elements such as the screws used to secure the ‘Big Bang’s’ bezel.

Light & Time can only be viewed in full from the top of the mountain

‘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 watchmaking, design and craft,’ Daniel Arsham says. ‘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.’

a colossal timepiece is created from snow, ice, and sunlight

‘hublot loves daniel arsham!’

‘We’ve been hoping this day would come!‘ says the team at Hublot. ‘Daniel Arsham is one of the most exciting creative talents working 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. Hublot loves Daniel Arsham!‘

the screws which secure Hublot’s Big Bang bezel are replicated in ice the work is backdropped by the iconic Matterhorn peak