Images of ‘Slow-Moving Luminaries’.

‘Slow-Moving Luminaries’, a large-scale immersive installation by Los Angeles-based artist Lars Jan, was presented by Audemars Piguet this December at Art Basel Miami Beach, which took place from 7 to 10 December 2017.

Launched in 2013, the Audemars Piguet Art Commission aims to contribute to global artistic innovation, inviting artists to create original pieces based on the brand’s story to be presented at all three Art Basel shows in Hong Kong, Basel, and Miami. “As a company, we want to be transformed by art. Artists have a capacity to see things differently, as if they have special glasses that one can borrow and see what they can see,” says Olivier Audemars, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors. The 3rd Art Commission will see Jan joining alumni Chinese artist Sun Xun and Swiss artist and composer Robin Meier.

A multidisciplinary artist, Jan is a director, filmmaker, artist, designer, photographer and writer, as well as the founder of genre-bending performance and art lab Early Morning Opera. His works have been presented at numerous festivals and museums, with ‘Holoscenes’, a public performance and installation, presented by Early Morning Opera at Times Square in New York City earlier this year.

Lars Jan.

“The 3rd Audemars Piguet Art Commission will see its viewers act as performers, becoming a part of the piece as they interact with it. The performance will be spontaneous and remain unscripted, allowing the viewers to set their own pace,” explained Jan ahead of the art fair. “This is the first time I will not have control over my performers’ movements. The piece will be totally experiential for the viewer and go beyond the simple act of contemplation.”

The installation saw Jan taking inspiration from the cycles of the planet, and the cycles of human behaviour. A large-scale kinetic pavilion presented on a site spanning 100 by 50 feet, the installation comprised of two separate decks standing in stark contrast to one another. Viewers were able to engage in a journey across the two decks. The lower deck contained a labyrinth of scrim and flora, while the upper deck featured a reflecting pool of water set against the skyline.

Calling the artist the “perfect fit” for the year’s Art Commission, guest curator Kathleen Forde commented, “His art mirrors the complexity, precision, technology and science that defines Audemars Piguet.” Olivier Audemars reiterated, “One of the reasons we were so impressed by Lars’ work is that it’s quite strongly linked to something that we know: our environment is very fragile. We are just a little part of the history of the earth and the universe, and it’s up to us to find a solution to continue to exist.”

Lars Jan’s work will be unveiled this week in Miami at the Oceant Front next to Collins Park. Cheng Ran’s ‘Circadian Rhythm’ will be presented at the Audemars Piguet booth in Art Basel’s Collectors Lounge together with Sebastian Errazuriz’s ‘Second Nature’.

More information at audemarspiguet.com.