Breguet is building on its partnership with Frieze at the London leg of the modern art fair last year with another appearance at the New York event.
Its Manhattan pavilion is curated by critically acclaimed art expert Jenn Ellis for the New York leg of the event, which runs until May 5.
It is the third year of Breguet’s partnership with the Frieze Art Fair.
Ms Ellis spent time at the Breguet manufacture in the Vallée de Joux for inspiration as she curated the New York presentation.
“It was incredible to not just understand but feel the emotion, care, and technical skill that goes into making each Breguet piece. There is a profound respect for heritage and finding the balance between historical articulation and innovation,” she said after her visit.
Ms Ellis’ New York presentation, titled An Atlas of Us, will feature Singaporean artist, Dawn Ng, an artist whose work is said to “resonate with geographical considerations and topographical readings of deep time”.
Over several weeks in her studio, Ms Ng created 60 kilogram blocks of ice that evolve into a confluence of pigments, watercolours, acrylics, and dyes. The stratification of these blocks speaks to the topography of our planet, where time is read through age-old formations that are testimony to gravitational pushes and pulls. The effect of these natural forces is a key consideration in the history of watchmaking and evidenced by the design of timekeeping mechanisms.
“In my work I explore time through the ultimate ephemeral material: that is the ice. Pervading my work is the question of what if we described time as a colour, shape and form, through the lens of emotions, rather than strict numerical terms? Collaborating with Breguet, a brand that is vested in not only time but also in the notions of heritage, is interesting and prompts me to think about what predates us, in particular land, topography, and geological formations,” says Ms Ng.
Through my presentation, curated by serial collaborator Jenn Ellis, I am excited to unpack thoughts around what makes us ‘us’, how time can be reflected by the surfaces we stand on, but also how it comes, goes, and evolves in a cyclical manner,” she adds.
