Cerith Wyn Evans, Tate Britain, Duveens Commission, March 2017
The Tate Britain Commission, which annually invites a contemporary British artist to ornament the institution’s neoclassical Duveen Galleries, features an installation this year by Welsh-born Cerith Wyn Evans. The exhibition, titled ‘Forms in Space… By Light (in Time)’ is a stunning light installation by the contemporary artist. On view from March 28 to August 20, the installation is sure to brighten your day.
Born in Wales in 1958, the son of a photographer and painter, Wyn Evans studied at St Martins and The Royal College of Art. He started as a filmmaker, producing his own experimental films, and also served as an assistant to director Derek Jarman for “The Angelic Conversation” (1985), “Caravaggio” (1986), and “The Last of England” (1987). In 1988, his short film “Degrees of Blindness” starred Tilda Swinton, a frequent actress for Jarman.
For the 2017 edition, Cerith Wyn Evans’s “Forms in Space… by Light (in Time)” is a formidable maze of elevated luminous elements. Deemed a kind of “drawing in space,” the ceiling-suspended sculpture is made from almost two kilometers of neon lighting. The spiraling forms commence from a neon ring before morphing into a collection of discs. The intricate structure was inspired by Japanese Noh theater and is evocative of a “celestial map,” playing with the viewer’s perspective. Guests are strongly recommended to walk under what seems as an optically confusing mass of light in order to marvel and understand the form of the installation.
Alex Farquharson, the Director of Tate Britain, praised the artist for “the rich world of poetic ideas that informs his projects,” and for creating “light on a challenging scale.”
Cerith Wyn Evans’s interest in text and perception has expanded his practice across varied media. His series of chandelier sculptures — some modern and minimalist, others Italian Murano glass antiques — invest a symbol of material wealth with coded flickers of light and shadow. Wyn Evans has also collaborated on an art project with the band Throbbing Gristle, and was featured in Juergen Teller’s ad campaign for the label Marc Jacobs in 2011.
Alongside this exhibition, he has just opened a solo show at Haus Konstruktiv in Zurich. He will participate in the forthcoming Venice Biennale, which he has participated in previously, notably in 2009 for a collaboration with Florian Hecker and Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary on the opera project “No night No day.”
The Tate Britain Commission has previously extended invitations to Pablo Bronstein (2016), Christina Mackie (2015), Phyllida Barlow (2014), Simon Starling (2013), Patrick Keiller (2012), Fiona Banner (2010), Eva Rothschild (2009), Martin Creed (2008), Mark Wallinger (2007), Michael Landy (2004), Anya Gallaccio (2002), and Mona Hatoum (2000).
Carrera Heuer-02T is the most affordable Swiss-made tourbillon watch by far.
Love him or hate him, there’s no denying Jean-Claude Biver’s Midas touch. Blancpain. Omega. Hublot. The man made an unqualified success of each, and is now working on taking TAG Heuer back to its glory days and probably beyond. To that end, he has initiated several projects in the two years or so since taking over as the brand’s CEO, the most controversial being the Carrera Heuer-02T, a COSC-certified tourbillon chronograph that retails for a bargain price of just around US$15,000.
Biver is no stranger to bold moves like this and there is a method to his madness – he sees TAG Heuer’s price positioning in the past as one of its greatest assets, and such cutthroat prices are a way to reestablish it. It has always been his modus operandi, after all, to exploit a brand’s uniqueness. In a market that often blurs the line between price and prestige, Biver is taking a contrarian stance by working towards a lower, more accessible price segment for the brand instead. Judging by TAG Heuer’s performance in the LVMH group’s reports, this is going to be another notch on his belt in no time.
It has been almost two years since you took over at TAG Heuer. Do you consider the majority of your work done?
I consider 85 per cent of the work done, but the market has only seen 35 per cent. We have movements and cases that haven’t been revealed, technical advancements that haven’t reached the market, and patents that are still pending. There are marketing projects that will only be seen in 2018, and movies tie-ins that haven’t been released. These make up the 50 per cent that is done, but still invisible. Again, only 35 per cent of everything has been seen – what’s coming out in time will be double of what’s already been shown.
Jean-Claude Biver, the CEO of TAG Heuer and President of the LVMH Group’s Watches Division.
What of the remaining 15 per cent that still needs to be done?
That is what we have yet to accomplish. I think we are too weak in motor racing now. Whether for the right or wrong reasons — it is not my place to criticise — we have allowed the sport to fall by the wayside, and stopped being the official timekeeper of Formula 1, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and so on. We’ve lost our presence in this field, and we need to re-conquer it. I think we also need more female ambassadors, and greater emphasis on ladies’ watches. These are some of the things that make up the final 15 per cent.
Is this drive to retake TAG Heuer’s spot in motor racing driven by nostalgia, or something else?
We will never go back to motor racing if it had no potential, even if it is a part of TAG Heuer’s DNA. Just having a heritage somewhere, or a historical connection to something, is not enough. As it stands, it’s in our DNA and there is potential here so we have to go back.
And you’ve made progress here, with the TAG Heuer branding on Red Bull Racing’s engine, for example.
Yes, that was a good comeback for us, at least. We need to be very careful with deals like this nowadays, because our competitors now perceive us as a serious threat, and have become very reactive to what we do — they observe and adapt very quickly. It’s a good sign, but there’s a price to pay because they may undermine us by, for example, offering a higher price for a deal.
TAG Heuer’s 30-year relationship with McLaren ended in 2015, but it soon announced a new partnership with Red Bull Racing.
Another big change that you’ve introduced is TAG Heuer’s repositioning as a brand for affordable luxury. Why?
Oh yes, this is very important. TAG Heuer had incredible success in the 1980s and 1990s, and it was the affordable luxury brand at that time. This was, of course, backed by strong products, good ambassadors, and so on, but a large part of its success was due to its identity of being affordable luxury. I decided that we had to reclaim this reason for the brand’s success. Mind you, I didn’t invent any of this – it was just my analysis of TAG Heuer’s history that made me return the brand to sports, sports timing, and affordable luxury. It’s nothing new. In the 1980s, for example, TAG Heuer sponsored a cycling team called 7-Eleven. When I wanted to work with BMC Racing, whose manager was the founder of 7-Eleven, there were people who questioned this decision. “Why cycling, Mr Biver?” Well, they asked only because they didn’t know that we were already involved in the 1980s!
The 1980s and 1990s were a long time ago though.
Yes, but affordable luxury is not in the past. It has grown, because the middle class is much larger, so we have an even bigger market than before. And we actually face less competition now, because the Swiss brands have mostly priced themselves out of this segment.
Yes, many Swiss brands are pricing themselves upwards, and justifying this by offering more value through in-house movements and the like. You, on the other hand, want to move TAG Heuer’s prices downwards.
Yes, but there is no danger. TAG Heuer can produce and sell thousands of tourbillons. We currently certify 44 Heuer-02T movements with COSC every week, and plan to produce 2,000 of them next year. It is significant, but if you think about it, 2,000 watches at US$15,000 each does not make us a mass-market brand. In fact, for most people, that is a hell lot of money for a watch! Affordable luxury is a position that must be considered in relation to the competition — our tourbillon is accessible because the next closest costs over twice that — and there’s a position to take at every price. A watch can be accessible, but that doesn’t mean that it is cheap.
TAG Heuer’s partnership with BMC Racing Team marked the brand’s return to competitive cycling.
Is this also why the Monaco V4 Phantom was released at a lower price than the original?
Yes, we priced it to sell, and did that by optimising production. You can reduce prices by narrowing margins or, if you produce your own watches, by cutting costs. Before I took over, TAG Heuer often worked on special pieces but never considered their prices. Instead, the focus was on the product itself, and the PR value it would create. But these efforts must be followed through with sales! If the price is not competitive, the development becomes something that goes into the brand’s history, but not something that is sustainable, because it will not sell. This is not what I want. I am not here to create a show, but to do business. After I took over, I ordered a review, because I was ready to do another version of the Monaco V4. But the team had to study the price first.
You released the Monza this year, and are following up with the Autavia next year. Why this sudden interest in reissues?
The Monza and Monaco are reissues, yes, but not the Autavia. When it comes to reissues, we must be careful not to overdo things because we cannot live by repeating yesterday — we need to create a tomorrow. The Monza was already in the pipeline when I took over, so I gave the go ahead with just a little modification to have it in black. When I took over, I laid down the rule that if we bring an old model back, it must have its own personality and be different from the original. What did this mean for the Autavia? It looks like the original from a distance, but its size, materials, and movement are not the same. These changes make it sufficiently different from the original, so it doesn’t dilute collectors’ interest.
Monaco V4 Phantom
Are you referring to the vintage market for Heuer timepieces?
Yes, we are very keen to protect it. We have created a restoration department with 18 people for this. Part of the team is managing the data needed to trace the provenance of each vintage watch. We want to eventually be able to issue a certificate to each collector, to tell him the date that his watch was produced, how many pieces of that model were made, the details of its movement, where and how much it sold for, and even when production stopped and the reference that replaced it.
How does this benefit the brand?
It supports the vintage market and protects the history and legacy of the brand. It’s essential that we keep proper records because the more our collectors are interested in our history, the more the next generation will be interested in our future.
Frankly, TAG Heuer has a bewildering number of brand ambassadors and partnerships. Aren’t you worried that this perceived lack of exclusivity might dilute the brand?
We have to speak to every group of our customers differently. There are ambassadors and partnerships that are targeted at just one narrow category of our customers, but thanks to the Internet now, whatever we do somewhere will appear everywhere else. This gives people the illusion that we have too many partners. Someone in Switzerland may question why TAG Heuer partnered with a lady from Colombia — so what if she was an Olympic medallist? For Colombians, however, she’s a hero! Of course, we want to work with her, but this is for Colombia, not Switzerland. So what seems like a huge number is actually very limited if we consider it country by country.
Wingsuit BASE jumper Géraldine Fasnacht, a TAG Heuer brand ambassador.
Some of these partnerships appear excessively risky though. Géraldine Fasnacht, for instance, does wingsuit BASE jumping, with estimated fatality rates that are worse than one in every 60 participants. What are your thoughts?
We know her sufficiently well to be assured that she isn’t any more likely to die than a speed skier, because she is a master in this field. Of course, we recognise that she takes more risks than [model and actress] Cara Delevinge. But our motto is “Don’t Crack Under Pressure”, and we want to work with people who can live this.
While the notion of purchasing a yacht may seem as easy as pie to most of us, those in the know can tell us that it is not always so. With years of experience under their belt and the knowledge of Asia’s yachting industry at their fingertips, Simpson Marine has launched a new yacht financing platform known as EPOWER.
Offering tailor-made solutions for each client, the yacht dealership and service company aims to provide a smooth and financially sound way for clients to commit to making such an important purchase. Under its list of partner banks, tied with the platform, are ICBC China, Bank of China, BNP and Credit Suisse among others. The financing service is now available in all Asian countries that host a Simpson Marine office including Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. In fact, EPOWER has already aided several clients in Hong Kong and China with their purchases.
What makes this service a boon for those who wish to make such an investment, is that EPOWER is able to provide them with up to 70% financing over a period of three to five years. Approval for the financing takes as little as 10 days, which is great news for those who favour a hassle free experience. For yacht buyers who have already purchased their yacht, the platform allows them to apply for yacht refinancing, This allows them to have funds that can be used for investing in other areas and activities.
“EPOWER can fund the purchase of all types of yachts, ranging from small sailing boats to the world’s largest superyachts, and covers all brands in the Simpson Marine portfolio from Beneteau, Lagoon, Monte Carlo, Monte Carlo Yachts to Sanlorenzo and Viking”, explains Mike Simpson, the Founder of Simpson Marine.
If, like us, you were wondering whether Ferrari F430 F1 Coupe first owned by POTUS would sell, then allow us to clear things up for you: the answer is yes. In fact, someone also bought Donald Trump‘s other car, his childhood home, and a whisky bottle signed by him earlier this year. His name does sell.
Just in case you were hoping for a political angle to this article, there isn’t, really. Now, as you should know, Ferraris are not as popular on the collectable car market. The Ferrari first owned by Trump (the car had just two owners) sold at Fort Lauderdale Convention Centre in Florida last Saturday for nearly twice the model’s usual price at an auction.
So: Ferrari F430 owned by someone else gets US$125,000 to US$175,000; Ferrari F430 first owned by Trump gets US$270,000.
What can we say? According to Bloomberg, Trump’s old Cadillac limousine went to a new owner for four to seven times the price of others of its type in March, and POTUS’ Lamborghini Diablo fetched 75 percent more than average in September last year.
As we mentioned, it’s not just the cars. Whisky bottle signed by Trump? Sold for double the estimate price in January, and for more than other alcohol linked to current POTUS. Trump’s childhood home at Queens, New York? Sold, to Michael Davis last December, who put it up on the market months later at 54% more than he bought it for.
Next, a Trump-signed notebook or something might go for a million. Let’s keep our eyes peeled.
We would like to thank AFP Relaxnews, Washington Post, Bloomberg, BBC, and Fortune for information on Trump’s past car (and bottle and childhood home) auctions reflected in this article.
The envisioned West Entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art after Frank Gehry’s uplift, with new access-friendly ramps that give the entrance a contemporary aesthetic. Architectural rendering by Gehry Partners, LLP and KX-L
The Philadelphia Museum of Art— home of the famous “Rocky” steps — has announced a transformation led by architect Frank Gehry that will run through 2020.
Attracting 600,000 to 800,000 visitors per year, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has a collection of more than 240,000 objects spanning 4,000 years. Of note are works by Thomas Eakins and Charles Willson Peale that shed light on the history of the city and of the United States, as well as the most significant collection anywhere of works by Marcel Duchamp, including his final, site-specific project, ‘Etant Donnés’.
The redesign of the neoclassical building sets out to improve the visitor experience and to create new gallery space for the museum’s collection, which grows by one percent per year. Focusing on the heart of the building, the project will see the addition of a new public space called the Forum that will provide access to areas that have been closed to the public for nearly 50 years.
Frank Gehry reveals concept for the Forum, a new space created from demolishing the Van Pelt Auditorium. Architectural rendering by Gehry Partners, LLP and KX-L
Additional galleries for American art (nearly two-thirds more) and contemporary art (one-third more) and a newly designed restaurant and café are among other planned features.
The result, according to the museum, will be “a seamless blend of old and new,” as Gehry‘s team plans to work with the building’s pre-existing architectural style and materials.
“I walked through the building and I saw that all you had to do was follow the yellow brick road, so to speak. It was all there, and it showed you what you could do,” said Gehry of the design.
The South Lobby of the museum imagined post-revitalisation by Frank Gehry as a choice spot for installations. Architectural rendering by Gehry Partners, LLP and KX-L
The project’s first phase, set for completion in 2019, will consist of the reopening of two areas, the North Entrance and the Vaulted Walkway. Through 2019 and 2020 additional spaces will open, and the project is expected to come to a close in the summer of 2020.
The museum will remain open and fully operational during construction.
With new tyres in development, the Jaguar XJ220 is set to continue to increase in value. Image courtesy of Jaguar Cars Middle East and North Africa Official Flickr Account
When the Jaguar XJ220 launched in 1992, it was one of the fastest cars any amount of money could buy. It was capable of hitting a Guinness Book of Records certified 217.1 miles per hour or 349.3 kilometres per hour and of lapping the Nurburgring in seven minutes, 46.36 seconds (a time that stood unchallenged until the turn of this century).
However, for the past 12 years, anyone lucky enough to have this car in their collection has been unable to do little more than simply look at its lines or to listen to the turbocharged V6 engine ticking over. And that’s simply because there has been no way of getting tyres for the car. Production of new rubber for the unique-sized wheels stopped when production of the car itself ceased in 1994.
“Owners have been reluctant to use their cars because of the tyre shortage. There have been no new tyres since approximately 1995,” said Tony O’Keefe, Jaguar Heritage’s head of communications. “Quite simply if anyone got a puncture, your car was off the road for good.”
This lack of new rubber is also one of the reasons why, as well as being a rare sight at concours car gatherings, the XJ220, despite ticking every conceivable classic supercar checklist box, hasn’t been shooting up in value in the same way that its 1990s contemporaries have.
But all of that is about to change. To coincide with the car’s 25th anniversary, Bridgestone and Pirelli have been working ‘tirelessly’ to develop new tyres for the car and get it back on the track where it belongs and those new tyres will be coming to market in a matter of weeks.
Both companies revealed their plans to re-shoe the car in September, and the excitement was felt well beyond the XJ220 owners’ club. “I believe [the announcement] is one reason why the prices of the XJ220 have risen by at least 20 percent in the last nine months,” said O’Keefe.
To get its tyres right, Bridgestone used a pre-production XJ220 for track tests and picked the brains of many of the engineers that helped develop the original car.
“We brought the engineers and test drivers from 25 years ago back together, so we were pretty much guaranteed to do the job right,” said Bridgestone test driver Justin Law of the development process.
And while the Bridgestone tyres will no doubt do the job, Jaguar has been working directly with Pirelli on a set of P Zero tyres (the de facto standard for every seriously exotic sportscar since debuting on the original Ferrari F40) for the XJ220 with a view to creating P Zeros for a number of its other classics in the future. As such, they will be the only “J-Rated” — i.e., Jaguar approved — rubber available for the XJ200.
Tim Hannig, Director of Jaguar Land Rover Classic, said: “This new tyre permits the full performance of the glorious XJ220 to be exploited where appropriate.”
