Swatch x Centre Pompidou – Watches that look like they are from a Parisian gallery  

Tags: Review | Swatch | Classic | Fashion

4.7.2022 | 6 MIN

Swatch started the grand line of collaborations with artists and galleries in 1985 with the Parisien culture center, the Centre Pompidou. In 2022, Swatch comes back with the Swatch x Centre Pompidou art collection and ivites us on a walk through this legendary French gallery of modern art. Are you accepting the offer?  

Every art enthusiast has probably longed to visit the premises of the Parisian Centre Pompidou, the modern architectonic rarity filled with iconic artwork from the most famous artists of the 20th century. When I stood in front of the avant-garde steel construction a few years ago, I admit that it made me feel a little uneasy. There was something provoking disturbing the appearance of the surroundings and dismissing the peace in the souls of conservatives... After all, so did the pieces inside the building at the time.

Centre Pompidou is a cultural center and a gallery of modern art in Paris, which apart from the exhibitions, has also a library, stores, coffee shops, cinema, and more. The gallery possesses artwork of the leading artists of the 20th century, such as Pablo Picasso, Vasilij Kandinsky, Robert Delaunay, Joan Miró, Marcel Duchamp, Jackson Pollock, and more.

Steel structure grows around the seven-story glass palace, which allows the inside of the building to "breathe" – without pillars or support. Part of the construction are tubes that are differentiated by colors: blue is air conditioning pipes, green is water pipes, yellow is the power line, and red is for elevators, escalators, etc. White tubes are for ventilation of the underground space.

A walk through the Swatch collection feels similar to that. Modern, colorful, and brave watches in the background of the horological world like the Pompidou in Paris. It is definitely not everybody's cup of tea, but it is music to an ear of a free thinker.

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It's not necessry to describe the technical functions of the watches. They are basic plastic Swatch watches from the Originals series with basic functions – quartz movement located inside the rear part of the watch, so the battery exchange is very simple (because there is no way to get inside the watch and the movement is pressed inside), and the water resistance is 30 M. Interestingly, it allegedely means a real depth, and according to the manufacturer, the watch cannot drown.

More important is, of course, the original art design portraying favorite paintings. And the price tag on these watches makes them affordable even for students, perhaps art students who then don't have to cut down on the hectolitres of coffee, school clothes, or makeup to save money for a watch.

But now, let's take a look at six iconic paintings that Swatch replicated on a dial and a silicone watch strap.

(1) Frida Kahlo – The Frame

The most significant piece of the collection, The Frame by a Mexican painter Frida Kahlo from 1938, is on the Swatch x Centre Pompidou SUOZ341 watch.

It is one of the hundred famous self-portraits of Frida Kahlo based on the physical suffering that she suffered most of her life and her romantic passions. The strongest aspect of these paintings is the distinct colors, elements of folklore, and mostly her enchanting, self-confident look.

Frida painted this piece on an aluminum sheet metal and placed it into a reverse painted glass frame intended for a mirror, photo, or religious painting.

Every watch from the Swatch x Centre Pompidou collection comes with an awesome box with a motif of a famous painting.

(2) Vassilij Kandinskij – Blue Sky

Russian artist Vasily Kandinsky became one of the most important pioneers of the revolution in painting, deliberately abandoning realistic portrayal and moving towards abstraction. There is an oil painting called The Blue Sky from 1940 hanging in the Centre Pompidou representing Kandinskij's late work. Swatch presents this piece on the Swatch x Centre pompidou UOZ342 watch.

Unlike other representatives of the abstract expressionism of his time, Kandinskij doesn't rely on aggression and emotional strain. On the contrary,  The Blue Sky has a calming feel to it.

What makes this piece remarkable is that the characters that are not realistic, yet are elaborate in detail, would, in a traditional sense, be the central motif of the painting. The main element of this painting is actually the background and the deep blue color.

What did Kandinskij want to achieve with this abstraction? It is supposed to act on the viewer on an emotional and psychological level. Kandinsky, in his essay about abstract art, suggests that the most distinctive art is usually the less coherent one and that asking the question "what?" feeds the spirit.

(3) Amedeo Modigliani – Portrait Of Dédie

The first solo exhibit of the Boheme Modigliani provoked outrage, and the chief of the Parisian police had to place an order to shut it down after a few hours. Portrait of melancholic Dédie Hayden from 1918 feels so tender that it is a wonder compared to the reputation of its creator. Swatch made a good choice when they framed the beautiful Dédie with a pink case, and overall "shrunken" the Swatch x Centre Pompidou GZ356 watch on a women's size of 34 mm (the previous two models have a size of 41 mm), making the watch seem even more gentle.

Interestingly, after moving to Paris, the originally Italian artist Modigliani turned over the perception of his own work, destroyed almost all of his previous work because he considered them "child's drawings," and also brought the destructiveness to his lifestyle. He then became a Parisian legend, a tragic character of damnd artists.

His paintings of girls and women are characteristic for the long lines, subtle eroticism, and the so-called motion-less beauty, which captivates the observer.

(4) Robert Delaunay – Carousel

French artist Robert Delaunay believed that color, on its own, can be the object of a painting because it has strength. And that is exactly what we see in the Swatch x Centre Pompidou GZ712 watch with a motif of the painting The Carousel from 1922. The watch size of 34 mm is the same size as the previous watch with Modigliani.

Robert Delaunay was inspired by colors and a love for experiments. His piece, the Carousel, is one of his most significant works. The Carousel stands out with the impressive use of bright colors and shapes that reminds us of a kaleidoscope. Swatch amplified the playful motif on the watch with a smart detail that is the date wrench which changes colors on the part of the dial and creates an even more kaleidoscopic effect.

(5) Robert Delaunay – Eiffel Tower

Swatch "borrowed" another painting by Robert Delaunay – The Eiffel Tower from 1926: Swatch x Centre Pompidou GZ357.

This watch is probably the soberest one from the collection. A light blue see-through case has a smaller size of 34 mm, the dial is simple, and the real sensation is played out on the strap with the colorful painting of the tower.

The painting is a part of a series dealing with lively colors and geometry, and is usually used as an example of the development of an artistic movement Orphism (Delaunay is a co-founder of this movement), which added dynamics and colors to cubism.

(6) Piet Mondrian – Red, Blue And White

Mondrian has managed to achieve an incredible influence among 20th-century artists, and to this day, his compositions inspire designers and artists around the world. Swatch chose the painting Red, Blue and White for the watch: the Swatch x Centre Pompidou SUOZ344.

The Dutch painter Piet Mondrian became famous as one of the pioneers of abstract art. He considered art to be something more than reality and often expressed the belief that it was more connected with spirituality. In his works, he dealt with the search for universal aesthetics, and in the end, he came to use only basic colors and vertical or horizontal composition.

And with Mondrian, I would also like to end our tour today. I hope you liked it as much as I did. I think the brand captured the key motifs and the spirit of the paintings perfectly with the limited space they had. What do you think of the watches?