Jeff Koons Joins Hublot, Because Apparently Time Needed a Little More Art

By Jessica Ye (Jessica Yap)

Jeff Koons has made a career out of making us look twice at things we thought we already knew. A balloon becomes a sculpture, a puppy becomes enormous and suddenly something that should be rather ordinary is commanding the attention of an entire room.

Now, he is turning his eye towards watches.

Hublot has named the American artist its latest ambassador, bringing together two names that have spent decades doing things rather differently. Koons joins the Swiss watchmaker’s roster of artists and creatives, which has included collaborations with figures from the worlds of architecture, contemporary art, design and street art since 2011.

If you know Koons’ work, the pairing is rather easy to understand.

His art has long revolved around familiar objects, materials and the painstaking craftsmanship required to turn something ordinary into something impossible to ignore. Balloon Dog, Rabbit and Puppy may look deceptively simple, but those polished surfaces and monumental forms are anything but simple.

Hublot has its own history of challenging expectations. In 1980, the brand put a gold case on a rubber strap, an unusual combination for luxury watchmaking at the time, and one that would eventually become part of its Art of Fusion identity.

Koons is particularly interested in that side of the brand.

Hublot and I have always shared fascination for the material sciences,”

he says, describing the watchmaker as a manufacture where materials are reinvented, movements refined and design reengineered.

There is even a rather amusing coincidence between the two. Both Hublot and Koons trace their breakthrough moments back to 1980, although one was busy disrupting watchmaking while the other was beginning the journey that would eventually make him one of contemporary art’s most recognisable names.

For now, the announcement is about the partnership rather than a new Koons-designed Hublot timepiece. But given Koons’ fascination with objects and Hublot’s long-standing willingness to do things its own way, I have a feeling we will be seeing more from these two.

And considering the people involved, I doubt it will be particularly subtle.

Featured Image: Jeff Koons joins Hublot as the Swiss watchmaker’s latest ambassador. | Image: Hublot