The concept of the “Art of Fusion” has long been in the DNA of the Swiss luxury watch brand HUBLOT. For some, art may be just a fancy trend to follow. Yet for HUBLOT, art is in its blood, a belief in its heart, and its philosophy for all creations. 

The hit show of the year “HUBLOT Loves Art” was unveiled on October 10th 2014 in Beijing’s 798 Art Zone. Eternity – Hourglass of Time, the awe-inspiring massive-scale installation jointly created by renowned contemporary Chinese artist Xu Zhen and HUBLOT has been successfully constructed in the centre of 798 Bauhaus Plaza. HUBLOT thus makes its presence on the centre stage of the Chinese avant-garde art highland and is extremely proud to achieve the crossover between luxury brand and public art. 

Following the installation, HUBLOT partnered with M WOODS Gallery for the opening exhibition “PALE FIRE——Revising Boundaries” red carpet ceremony in the evening. HUBLOT, together with a hundred distinguished guests and friends from the world of art, collection and culture, have witnessed this grand art event. HUBLOT also presented the “Official 2014 FIFA World Cup referee board” as a gift to Lin Han, collector and founder of M WOODS as well as to exhibiting artist Xu Zhen, in the presence of renowned Chinese collectors Qiao Zhibning, Zhou Dawei, Liu Wenchao, Lu Xun, and Huang Yu. 

HUBLOT and Xu Zhen – the extraordinary collaboration of a luxury brand and public art 

The brand philosophy “Art of Fusion” paves an artistic road for HUBLOT, leading to a world of imagination that has no boundaries. When HUBLOT met Xu Zhen, the well-known contemporary Chinese artist, the potential of this fusion was escalated to the maximum. Eternity, one of the Xu Zhen’s masterpieces, was inspired by the sculptures of Buddha in the Tianlongshan Grottos and the Nike of Samothrake sculpture. These sculptures of gods and Buddha that represent the aesthetics of imperfection and symbolise eternity are reconstructed by the artist in his own unique way. This strong sense of collision articulates the conflicts and divergence, tolerance and symbiosis of western and eastern civilisations as well as their cultures in such a way that it is abrupt, almost shocking and awe-inspiring. 

Hourglass of Time, co-created with Eternity, is inspired by the sand used to measure time. Time flows from the top to the bottom and during the process, the Chinese ancient time measurement Shi Chen is transferred into the western time measurement using Arabic numerals. This installation translates well into the HUBLOT philosophy of the “Art of Fusion” in which western and eastern cultural symbols fuse together. Eternity – Hourglass of Time echoes the eternity of time with the eternity of civilisation. 

This massive installation is 5-metres tall. Its body, clock and base are crafted in China and Switzerland. After months of effort and thousands of miles, the installation has finally been assembled and completed here in Beijing’s 798 Art Zone. 

The making of Eternity – Hourglass of Time witnessed the excellence and wisdom of eastern and western master watchmakers and artists, paying tribute to their commitment and passion. 

The significance of “HUBLOT Loves Art” reaches far beyond this. In the profound world of art, this is an innovative move by a luxury Swiss watch brand to start a creative art collaboration. Public art is obtaining increasing attention all over the world, including in China. HUBLOT appreciates and supports the spirit of public art. This project in particular allows a fusion between master watchmaking and avant-garde public art in an unprecedented manner. It breaks the rules of how a luxury brand should interact with art. 

Loic Biver, General Manager of Greater China, HUBLOT, said, “Contemporary art is prospering in China with an increasing number of outstanding artists and internationally recognised art works. We are honoured to be part of this. The public art project that we co-created with Xu Zhen in Beijing 798 Art Zone is so far the proudest crossover of HUBLOT. His artistic mind best exemplifies the concept of fusion and our collaboration stimulated the most exciting brilliance of art.” 

Xu Zhen has exhibited all over the world since participating in the 49th Venice Biennale Festival in 2001 and being awarded the “Best Artist’ prize by the China Contemporary Art Award in 2004. In addition to his role as an artist, Xu Zhen is also an active curator and art activist in the art community in China – influential in both the art and business worlds. Xu Zhen said, “The collaboration with HUBLOT is quite a nice coincidence. HUBLOT has a strong voice on time and fusion, which is exactly what my art works utters. The language of sculpture is solidified time. Eternity and Hourglass of Time each has a concept of their own. However, putting them together perfectly expressed my understanding of pluralism and fusion in the world that we live in, the respect for tradition and our vision for the future.” 

M WOODS exhibition opening supported by HUBLOT – calling upon the emerging art force 

The evening opening of M WOODS gallery brings the heat of HUBLOT art season to a new level. VIPs from the world of art, collection and culture attended the opening ceremony. HUBLOT, together with these distinguished guests, will witness one of the highlights of the year for the Chinese art community. 

M WOODS, the first private gallery in Beijing’s 798 Art Zone, was founded by the emerging Chinese art collector Lin Han, who is also the youngest collector to have ever established a gallery in China. M WOODS exhibits approximately one hundred collections, all privately owned by Lin Han. His collection includes installations, paintings, sculptures and photographs from not only renowned international artists but also from avant-garde young artists at home and abroad. 

Lin Han said, “I am really grateful for the HUBLOT’s support of art. Against the backdrop of globalisation, art collection has broken through the boundaries of countries and cultures. Our mission, which perfectly matches with HUBLOT’s concept of fusion, is to establish a non-profit art platform with a world vision that knows no boundaries, supporting development and exchange programs for young artists at home and abroad, and constantly injecting new talent into the Chinese art community.” 

The theme of the M WOODS opening show is “PALE FIRE——Revising Boundaries”, gathering the most influential generation of collectors with an international vision, including Qiao Zhibing, founder of the West Bank Art Centre, Lu Xun, founder of the Square Museum of Contemporary Art, Nanjing, and Zhou Dawei, founder of ART021. Art organisations are also invited to attend the exhibition, including The Museum of Modern Art from the US, Tate Modern and Tate Britain from the UK, Gagosian Gallery, PACE Gallery, White Cube Gallery, Hauser & Wirth Gallery, to name but a few. 

Having landed in the hinterland of Chinese art, HUBLOT looks forward to working side by side with the most cutting-edge and dynamic artists, collectors and art organisations, calling upon the emerging art force with the greatest potential and sharing their creativity and passion for art.