The Swatch x Centre Pompidou Puts Modern Art On Your Wrist

Fancy a Mondrian on your wrist? How about an iconic self-portrait of Frida Kahlo, complete with Mexican folk motifs? The art world just got smaller — and it’s a good thing — all because Swatch had the ingenious idea of taking the world’s most memorable art, and making it that much more accessible when worn on your wrist.

The six watches of their Swatch X Centre Pompidou reimagines six varied art pieces from the Parisian landmark, as part of the brand’s ongoing Museum Journey series.

The works featured include those by five renowned artists: Frida Kahlo, Amedeo Modigliani, Robert Delaunay, Vassily Kandinsky, and Piet Mondrian, who all have artwork proudly displayed at the Centre Pompidou.

Both collaborators also share quite a similar synergy; with a shared goal of making art accessible for all, both brands invite vibrant colours and fresh design in their overall aesthetics. The Centre Pompidou, in particular, is just as famous for an inside-out building design as its art, made of steel, primary-coloured tubing, and “caterpillar” glass-enclosed escalators that go up the side of its exterior.

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Here’s a closer look at all six designs, and how the art pieces displayed at Centre Pompidou have influenced the watches’ signature details.

above: PORTRAIT OF DÉDIE, BY AMEDEO MODIGLIANI ; RED, BLUE AND WHITE, BY PIET MONDRIAN.

Our first two art pieces couldn’t be more different in style. Amedeo Modigliani’s is an elegant painting of a woman, full of rich textures and reflections that are similarly recreated on Swatch’s Gent watch. The style features a silver-coloured dial with a print of ‘The Portrait of Dédie’ painting, with a touch of pink on the transparent shiny plastic case and buckle to balance out the darker tones on its matte silicone strap.

Piet Mondrian’s piece, on the other hand, should be something you’ll recognise. ‘Composition in Red, Blue and White II’ sees clean graphic lines and striking pops of colour, which you’ll also find on the New Gent watch, kept minimalist with a black dial. White and red hands stand out against that stark backdrop, while Mondrian’s architectural lines fit perfectly on the watch’s silicone strap.

above: EIFFEL TOWER, BY ROBERT DELAUNAY ; CAROUSEL, BY ROBERT DELAUNAY.

Here, we’ve got two modern artworks by the same person — French artist Robert Delaunay. The first sees him take on a Parisian landmark, the Eiffel Tower, where the iron monument is pictured soaring towards the sky in vibrant colours. The Gent watch, then, is faithful to the original painting, even to the point of honouring the textured light blue sky on the plastic case and silver-coloured dial.

The second piece is composed of circles of colour; ‘Manège de Cochons’ is an abstract imagining of Paris in the 1920s, and the Gent watch captures that same Dadaist spirit, with the colourful artwork featured prominently on the transparent dial and semi-transparent matte blue silicone strap. There’s a new detail too — a special cut-out on the dial reveals a colour-changing calendar wheel that reminds wearers of the spinning rhythm of an amusement park.

above: BLUE SKY, BY VASSILY KANDINSKY ; THE FRAME, BY FRIDA KAHLO.

If you like a touch of whimsy, look to Vassily Kandinsky and the quirky creatures and characters in his painting, ‘Sky Blue’. What Swatch gets right here are the swatches of blue and Kandinsky’s textural technique in his playful piece, seen on the semi-transparent matte light blue silicone strap and continuing onto the plastic case, silicone loop, and buckle. Dots at the tips of the hour and minute hand of the New Gent style are a subtle nod to the artist as well.

As for Frida Kahlo’s ‘The Frame’, it looks like we’re seeing double — not one, but two recreations of the Mexican artist’s powerful self-portraits, reflected like a mirror for good measure. The exuberant New Gent timepiece celebrates the Mexican folk motifs that the artist used in her artwork as well, where the original piece saw her encase her self-portrait in a small frame decorated with Mexican folk motifs, bought from a village market. These bright shades are accompanied by matte pink watch details on the silicone strap, buckle, and loop.

above: A special Collector’s Set.

Understandably, the watches all arrive in boxes that feature the original work of the artists as well, and descriptions of the art they’re inspired by. There’s also a special Collector’s Set of all six watches, with a sleeve that showcases an artist’s impression of the exterior facade of Centre Pompidou.

See close-ups and details of the watches below.