• PHIL AKASHI ARRIVED IN THE SWATCH ART PEACE HOTEL ARTIST RESIDENCY

    posted by Studio Phil Akashi on Monday, June 8, 2015

     

    Phil Akashi is participating to the Swatch Art Peace Hotel Artist Residency in Shanghai during six months till November 2015. The Swatch Art Peace Hotel Guest Artist Program is an artists’ residency designed to bring together talented artists from around the world to experience a unique cultural environment dedicated to contemporary art.

     

    Selected artists are invited to live and work in specially designed workshop studios for a period of up to six months, in a community of eighteen people from all artistic horizons and national origins. By bringing together in a prestigious setting the creators of art – the greatest luxury of all – and leading Swatch Group watch brands, the Program aims to situate art at the very heart of an urban space dominated by luxury goods.

     

    Artists are chosen by the Artists Selection Committee, includes François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO; George Clooney, Actor; Nayla Hayek, Chair of the Board of Directors, Swatch Group; Nick Hayek, CEO, Swatch Group; Esther Grether, Board Member, Swatch Group; Mikhail Kusnirovich, Russian Entrepreneur and Chairman of the Strategic Development Committee of the Department Store GUM; Sir Francis Yeoh, Chairman of YTL Group.

     

    The Swatch Art Peace Hotel Phil Akashi

    Terrace of the Swatch Art Peace Hotel - Courtesy of Swatch

     

    Phil Akashi Swatch and Art The Swatch Art Peace Hotel

    Phil Akashi in his workshop in The Swatch Art Peace Hotel

    The Swatch Art Peace Hotel Guest Artist Program offers artists, who are shaping the luxury of tomorrow, the opportunity to counteract peripheral isolation and develop creative exchange by living and working together in a dedicated environment in one of Shanghai’s most prestigious locations. Two floors have been reserved for this purpose in a legendary landmark building in Shanghai, China.

     

    Under a concept developed by Swatch Group, the former Palace Hotel (later known as the Peace Hotel South Building) has been restored to its original splendor. Now known as the Swatch Art Peace Hotel, it is located directly on the Bund, once the heart of old Shanghai and today the luxury mile in one of the biggest and most dynamic cities in the world.

     

    The Swatch Art Peace Hotel Shanghai Phil Akashi

    Phil Akashi at the window of his workshop in  The Swatch Art Peace Hotel

      

    Art and its propagation are of intrinsic importance to Swatch Group. The link between watches and the luxury of art was first introduced by the Swatch brand with its concept of “the world’s smallest canvas”. While making art accessible to everyone, the concept also associated the traditional Swiss art of watchmaking represented by such notable brands as Breguet, Blancpain and Omega with the exclusive prestige of a commissioned work of art.

     

    The Swatch Art Peace Hotel Guest Artist Program welcomes a broad range of cultures, artistic styles and media. Artists are under no obligations with respect to the organization or nature of the work undertaken during their residency. They are free to engage in individual or joint projects and to work according to their own schedule and plans. All participants will be asked to leave an artistic “trace” of their visit at the end of their stay, but will be completely free to choose how to do so.

     

    The main focus of the project is on creative exchange. Artists are encouraged to engage in collaborative work and discussion and to interact as a dynamic artistic community so as to enrich the creativity of the group as well as each other’s work. Communication, confrontation, observation and discovery should challenge the artists and enable them, in this vibrant artistic and cultural environment, to build upon their existing skills and extend the boundaries of their art.

     

     

    Studio Phil Akashi in The Swatch Art Peace Hotel 
     

      

    Swatch Art Peace Hotel Phil Akashi

    Entrance of the Swatch Art Peace Hotel - Courtesy of Swatch

     

     

    The Swatch Art Peace Hotel

     

     

    Swatch Art Peace Hotel Phil Akashi

    Artist Studio in the Swatch Art Peace Hotel - Courtesy of Swatch

      

     

    Studio Phil Akashi in The Swatch Art Peace Hotel

    Phil Akashi in The Swatch Art Peace Hotel

     


     

    SWATCH ART PEACE HOTEL COLLECTION

    During his residency in the Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai in 2015, Phil Akashi has been asked by the Swatch Group to create an artistic “trace” for the Swatch Art Peace Hotel collection. As a part of his project Legend of the Dragon / " 龍的傳說 ", Akashi created an abstract painting made of ink on silk and Xuan paper. The artwork is now presented in the Virtual Museum of the Swatch Art Peace Hotel's website.

     

    Swatch Phil Akashi Commission
    Untitled #9
    Ink on silk and Xuan paper with Chinese characters “龍的傳人“ / descendants of the dragon, 
    105x200x3cm, Shanghai 2015.


     

    Swatch Phil Akashi trace

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    Phil Akashi Commission Swatch

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    Swatch Group Phil Akashi trace

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    Virtual Museum Swatch Art Peace Hotel collection

    Detail

     

     

     

    INTERVIEWS OF PHIL AKASHI

    StyleByAsia, Peace for Art, Hong Kong, China: link

    Bazar Magazine, Dans l'atelier de Phil Akashi, Brussels, Belgium : link

     

     

    SWATCH AND THE VENICE BIENNALE ART 2015

     

    During the Venice Biennale 2015, Phil Akashi is presented as a residing artist of the Swatch Art Peace Hotel. Swatch is the main partner of la Biennale Arte 2015 in Venice, the world’s most prestigious exhibition of contemporary art. The 56th edition has opened May 9, 2015 under the title “All the World’s Futures" and runs through November 22, 2015. Swatch and la Biennale Arte 2015 are working together to support art and artists.

      

    Swatch has a long history of collaborating with artists. From its first design collaboration with Kiki Picasso and Keith Haring in 1984-86 to its ongoing relationship with the Venice Biennale, the company is at the forefront of nurturing artists’ practice and exposing their works to a wider audience. 

     

    The Swatch Faces 2015 exhibit at the 56th Venice Biennale continues this tradition, showcasing works from previous residents of the Shanghai Swatch Art Peace Hotel including Alec von Bargen, Yan Wang Preston, Chiara Luzzana and Luca Bray.

    In addition Swatch is celebrating its latest Art Specials from Eva & Adele and Joana Vasconcelos presenting a fascinating installation entitled “Il Giardino dell’Eden” in the Swatch Pavillion.

    Find out more here.

     




    residing artist Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Venice Biennale
    The Swatch artists at the Venice Biennale 2015

     

     

    “Il Giardino dell’Eden” by the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos, Venice 2015

    “Il Giardino dell’Eden” by the Portuguese artist  Joana Vasconcelos, Swatch Pavillion, Venice 2015