Yesterday evening, Swatch rocked the crowd in St. Mark's Square with an extraordinary show starring New York painter Billy The Artist, a member of the 'primitive urban pop' movement. Accompanying Billy on stage was the Swiss band Young Gods, who accompanied the artist as he toiled on stage and on a mobile scaffolding to paint a mural 10 metres long and 3 metres high. The play of light projected onto the historic facades surrounding the square was spectacular: videos and images animated and added colour to the work by Billy The Artist.
Swatch's cultural partnership with the City of Venice and the Swiss Maison's long tradition of support for the arts made the event possible, as well as the unprecedented authorisation by the City to present the show in the incomparable setting of St. Mark's Square and to present the Swatch CreArt 2009 Collection at the Gran Teatro La Fenice.
Late this morning, at a press conference at the opera house in Venice, Swatch founder Nicolas G. Hayek, Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek and Arlette-Elsa Emch, recently appointed President of Swatch Ltd., together with Billy the Artist, Swiss artist Ted Scapa and graphic designer Matthew Langille, presented a series of 12 Swatch Art Specials created by the three artists and French rapper and writer Grems.
In photo:
St Mark's Square in Venice decorated with a riot of coloured lights.
Nicolas G. Hayek, founder of Swatch, shows the 'Once Again' model, a re-edition of the very first Swatch, in the collection since 2000, at a press conference.
New York artist Billy The Artist, author of the performance.
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