Audemars Piguet is delighted to announce a new artwork imagined by Berlin-basedartist Tomás Saraceno for Aerocene. His sustainable, site-specific installation Albedo will be unveiled at Art Basel in Miami Beach on the oceanfront sandlot across from Collins Park, on December 5–9, 2018.

Albedo is a large scale temporal pavilion developed by Saraceno, comprised of approximately 40 reflective out-turned umbrellas. Together these parabolic structures create a large hemispherical sundial on the Miami beach oceanfront. Albedo bears a strong kinship with other artistic projects raising ecological awareness commissioned by Audemars Piguet and presented at Art Basel Miami Beach.

Albedo is highly interactive and has been developed with specific sustainable functions. Visitors are invited to participate in this immersive artwork that hosts performative experiments in tune with Miami Beach’s  usually sunny December weather, including community solar cooking – a first within an Aerocene project.

Tomas Saraceno

Audemars Piguet has always sought to integrate creative vision with artistry and technical mastery. Pursuing its commitment to ingenuity, innovation and a spirit of independence, Audemars Piguet formed a partnership with Art Basel in 2013, supporting the world’s premier contemporary art shows in Hong Kong, Basel and Miami Beach. At the crux of this involvement is Audemars Piguet’s Art Commission. The commission announced in May 2014 draws inspiration from the craftsmanship and technical excellence inherent in Audemars Piguet’s legacy of watchmaking. Every year an artist-creator duo is selected to realize a new artwork which explores complexity and precision, while enlisting contemporary creative practice, complex mechanics, technology and science. By inviting artists to push the limits of technical virtuosity and scientific ingenuity, the Audemars Piguet art commission forges a link between the traditions of Haute Horlogerie and Art.

As Olivier Audemars, Vice President of the Board of Directors commented: “When the opportunity to support Tomas in creating a  new artwork presented itself, we knew we had to bring his vision to life. Tomas is a master craftsmen and similar to how we view ourselves at Audemars Piguet. A term like “artist” doesn’t necessarily encapsulate the complexity of his work or vision. He is also a scientist, master connector and champion of the environment. The artowork in Miami Beach this December will take the art projects that Audemars Piguet has directly championed to a new height”