Swiss watchmaker Arnold & Son has commissioned British artist Matt Copson to create a unique timepiece for auction: the Arnold & Son x Matt Copson edition. The one-of-a-kind timepiece will feature in the Swiss Institute’s TimeForArt auction, a subset of the upcoming Phillips New York Watch Auction: SEVEN, coming to New York this December.
Arnold & Son commissioned Copson in tribute to the Swiss watchmaker’s longstanding British ties, and together, the creative partners designed a luminous spider web inspired watch for the first-ever benefit watch auction in support of contemporary art.
The inaugural edition of TimeForArt curates exceptional timepieces from the world’s foremost watchmakers, including the Arnold & Son x Matt Copson collaboration, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to supporting today’s most visionary artists through Swiss Institute’s innovative exhibitions, public programs, educational and community engagement workshops in New York and beyond.
Each curated TimeForArt timepiece expresses the most artistic elements of contemporary watchmaking, shining a light on the creative core at the heart of horology today.
Featured watches, including the Arnold & Son HM SI Matt Copson edition, were developed in alignment with the theme “artists for artists,” and represent unique collaborations with world-renowned artisans, interventions by leading contemporary artists, bespoke examples of innovative craftsmanship, or coveted limited-edition timepieces.
Arnold & Son offered the renowned artist carte blanche to create the design of his choice. With the dial as his canvas, Copson opted for a spider web motif and employed a polished silver tone web in relief against a matte silver background. A spider caps the hour hand and a fly the minute hand, so that once every hour the spider appears to catch the fly, yet every hour it escapes again. The seemingly playful touch and cartoonish element of the dial aligns with Copson’s larger body of work, which explores deeper themes of life, death, and pursuit of purpose.
In darkness, the dial comes alive with dramatic green SuperLuminova – an allusion to the artist’s frequent use of light and lasers. The spider and fly also received a luminous treatment.
In the fall of 2022, the collection, including the Arnold & Son SI HM Matt Copson unique watch, will be showcased globally at a series of events held in partnership with Phillips.
The lots will be offered by live auction, in partnership with Phillips in Association with Bacs &Russo, on December 10 and 11, 2022, at the Phillips New York headquarters at 432 Park Avenue. Bids may be placed in advance or during the live streamed event – in-person, via the phone, or online.
