Watches have always been as much about fashion as they are about keeping time, but what makes the Swatch a particularly iconic device is the company’s emphasis on the “fun” in “functional.” Their commitment to expressive products is best represented in their artist series collaborations. Starting in 1985 Swatch began using their timepieces as the world’s smallest canvas, with their first Swatch Art Special launching with the work of artist Kiki Picasso. Subsequent collections would invite luminaries of art and design such as Keith Haring, Nam June Paik, Renzo Piano, and others to embellish Swatch watches with their signature styles.
Swatch also has a history of collaborating with art institutions themselves designing watches – in partnership with MoMA, the Louvre, Centre Pompidou, and Rijksmuseum – adorned with signature works from their respective collections. Now you can add the Tate Modern to that extensive list.
Swatch began their Museum Journey series in 2018, partnering with the aforementioned art institutions of note.
The seven design Swatch x Tate Gallery Collection consists of watches styled after some of the most famous artworks found within the four galleries of Tate: Fernando Léger’s “Two Women Holding Flowers”, Marc Chagall’s “Blue Circus”, Joan Miró’s “Women & Bird In the Moonlight”, JMW Turner’s “The Scarlet Sunset”, Henri Matisse’s “Snail”, Louise Bourgeois’ “Spirals”, and Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s “Orange and Red On Pink”. With a collection spanning 70,000 paintings, sculptures, and installations, these seven watches represent but a split second of the Tate Gallery’s entirety.
As part of this collaboration, Swatch will also take part in Tate Modern Lates, supporting nine of the after-hour music, food, and drink events with music and workshops at the center of each evening, transforming the gallery into a lively social space for young Londoners.
Priced at just $110, the quartz movement, plastic case, and silicone strap wristwatches making up the Swatch x Tate Gallery Collection is transparently intended to make watch collecting and art appreciation attainable endeavors. It’s about time.
The Swatch x Tate Gallery Collection is available now in Swatch stores worldwide and on swatch.com, as well as in Tate’s gallery shops and online store at shop.tate.org.uk.
