Curators at Audemars Piguet Contemporary
By A&M

Since 2012, Audemars Piguet Contemporary has commissioned artists across the world to create contemporary artworks, fostering a global community of creators and connecting their work to the wider public. Artists they have recently worked with include Cao Fei for ‘Isle of Instability’ (2020) and Phoebe Hui for ‘The Moon is Leaving Us’ (2021).

A&M speaks with Audrey Teichmann (AT) and Denis Pernet (DP), curators at Audemars Piguet Contemporary about working creatively with restrictions in the past year; exciting projects this year including the global premiere of the full data-verse trilogy by Ryoji Ikeda at 180 Studios in London commissioned by Audemars Piguet Contemporary in 2015, and the commission of a new major work by Aleksandra Domanović which will be unveiled during Gallery Weekend Berlin “Discoveries” opening in September; as well as the role that patronage can play to encourage experimentation in the art ecosystem.

Portrait of Denis Pernet. Image courtesy of © Audemars Piguet.

How does your role as Art Curator at Audemars Piguet Contemporary differ from your previous positions in curation, research etc.? What ethos/resources does Audemars Piguet Contemporary offer you that is unique?

DP: What is great about my role at Audemars Piguet Contemporary is that it is very similar in style to previous positions I held at contemporary art institutions. We apply the same professionalism when it comes to curating and to the relationship with artists, and we notice how the artists appreciate that.
AT: Most of the projects I have worked on prior to Audemars Piguet Contemporary were group exhibitions in contemporary art or architecture. Whatever the angle of research was, my role was to propose different artists’ or architects’ positions. With Audemars Piguet Contemporary, we work with international artists by commissioning new artworks, and we dedicate focus to each, offering unique resources to the artist’s we collaborate within terms of time, financial support, and access to special expertise in various disciplines.

How have your previous roles prepared you for your time at Audemars Piguet Contemporary?

AT: As a curator, your experiences and network are key factors that are built over time. The prospective aspect of my work before working for Audemars Piguet Contemporary was key. This includes my time as a contemporary art gallery director when I worked with several artists and established long-term relationships, which is fundamentally at the core of our program at Audemars Piguet.
DP: Over my career, I specialised in producing new installations with artists. This directly parallels how with Audemars Piguet Contemporary, we commission new artworks and accompany their development from inception to exhibition. I have also collaborated with many private companies in the past, so I also understand their expectations when they support contemporary art. Relationships are of utmost priority to our programme today.

How do you work together with each other? What are your individual responsibilities and how do they complement each other?

AT: I am very lucky to be able to have deep discussions with Denis, to compare and contrast our vision, ideas, networks and experience. Denis has a great experience as a curator and I learn a lot from our conversations and working side-by-side. On the occasion that one of us leads a project, and the other supports, it remains a dialogue between the two of us. We get to know each artist, and do our best to understand and value the uniqueness of their practice.
DP: The Audemars Piguet Contemporary programme is quite busy with multiple new projects per year but also projects travelling to different art institutions. It is great to be able to collaborate with Audrey. This helps us to dedicate time to spend with the artists and establish a fruitful dialogue with them. Our styles are very complementary.

Phoebe Hui, artist. Image courtesy of the artist and Audemars Piguet.

How do you interact with the wider Audemars Piguet network in carrying out your work?

AT: We value our collaboration with colleagues at Audemars Piguet who do not focus on contemporary art as we do. Their expertise is of great value. For instance, some of our colleagues recently introduced one of our artists, Phoebe Hui, to a leading innovator in high precision haptics technology, who came onboard to mentor Phoebe and support the creation of the 5th Audemars Piguet Art Commission. We constantly share our projects and make sure our colleagues get to know them.
DP: For Audemars Piguet, supporting contemporary art is all about the conversation that it initiates. Therefore, it is a great pleasure to have this dialogue with all our colleagues, the watchmakers, the sales colleagues etc. It is invigorating to feel their interest and see how the works we commission may resonate in their lives.
AT: Also importantly with each artwork, we always prioritise public access and if possible, opening the artist’s practice up to new audiences around the world. Art is a great communicator.

“… we always prioritise public access and if possible, opening the artist’s practice up to new audiences around the world. Art is a great communicator. ”

What are your personal criteria for an artist to be considered for an Audemars Piguet Art Commission and a Studio Audemars Piguet commission?

AT: Their relevance in terms of contemporary art discourse; a variety of discourses that reflect the ever-changing world we live in; avant-garde practices and critical positions to open constant dialogues; their interest in working closely with us through a conversation-based approach that creates a fruitful environment. We are eager to explore artists’ practices that push boundaries, explore what the intricacies of the world are and what its future can be. More precisely concerning the Audemars Piguet Art Commission, we work with artists who are not yet internationally recognised.
DP: The art practice should be able to question our relationship to the world with many different possibilities. The visual and spatial aspect of the artwork is very important because it brings unspeakable elements to the conversation by engaging the visitor’s body. The personal experience of art is key.

“We are eager to explore artists’ practices that push boundaries, explore what the intricacies of the world are and what its future can be. More precisely concerning the Audemars Piguet Art Commission, we work with artists who are not yet internationally recognised. ”

What are the challenges of working internationally in a time when travel is restricted? And what advantages, if any, has it offered at the same time? Please respond to this from your own experience, as well as your observations of the artists’ experiences.

AT: Obviously, the physical distance is the main challenge. Nevertheless, digital tools allow people to feel closer and help us to exchange ideas.
DP: Yes, we all face the same challenges and we try to compensate for the lack of traveling and meeting by using digital communication tools. For many artists, it is also a good period to focus on research and production rather than travelling so much.
AT: Curating is also about being able to physically witness the different steps of the production of an artwork. However, the process that begins at the inception of the project and ends at the closing of the exhibition is possible to observe remotely, through a constant dialogue with the artists we collaborate with. We are also lucky to have had many collaborators onsite in the different cities where we have launched projects.

Audemars Piguet Contemporary at West Bund Art & Design 2020. Image courtesy of the artist and Audemars Piguet.

Cao Fei. Image courtesy of the artist and Audemars Piguet Contemporary.

Could you speak about a memorable experience in your time at Audemars Piguet so far? And/Or what do you enjoy most about your work?

AT: What I enjoy the most is knowing that every time we speak with an artist or with our team, new ideas emerge.
DP: I work for the artists and the visitors’ interest. So every opening when the artist and the audience are happy is a memorable experience for me. The privilege of a curator is also to work on the installation with the artist. This also creates great experiences. Last November, for the first time in my career, I could not be on location for the installation of a project that I had worked on, incidentally it was at West Bund Art & Design in Shanghai where we presented a new commissioned artwork by Chinese artist Cao Fei. We worked around it and organised many video tours of the installation so I could follow the development. I wish I could have been there in person but the ingenuity around the artwork and the team effort to bring it to life is a great memory.

Research studies for artwork by Aleksandra Domanović. Image courtesy of the artist and Audemars Piguet.

What can we look forward to in 2021 from Audemars Piguet Contemporary? How do the projects reflect Audemars Piguet Contemporary’s belief in “the power of contemporary art to connect and be connected” and advance its aim to generate conversation?

DP: We have just announced a forthcoming commission with Berlin-based artist Aleksandra Domanović who is working to create a new installation that will be unveiled timed to Berlin Gallery Weekend in September 2021. Her research around culture and technology is fascinating. In mid-May, we also opened a major survey of Ryoji Ikeda in collaboration with The Vinyl Factory and Fact at 180 Studios in London where one can discover the monumental audio-video trilogy ‘data-verse’ that Audemars Piguet Contemporary commissioned in 2015.
AT: Yes, this is the first time that Ryoji’s trilogy is being shown all together; the first was unveiled at the Venice Biennale in 2019 and the second at an Audemars Piguet exhibition in Tokyo in October 2019. The exhibition in London is open all summer and should not be missed if you can get to it!
But in addition to these projects, I am looking forward to hopefully travelling again before the year’s end. I cannot wait to re-connect with longtime friends in the art world and make new connections. Contemporary art has the power to start fascinating conversations and Denis and I have met some of the most interesting people that way.
DP: Connections are the essence of what we do.

“Connections are the essence of what we do. ”

Are there plans for the programmes to widen their geographical scope?

AT: We are always interested in a large range of practices and positions. As the artists are always at the core of our projects, they define areas of interest.
DP: Audemars Piguet Contemporary has always had a great interest for different geographical areas and we are definitely continuing to diversify our proposition, in terms of identity, geography but also position in the art discourse today.

What do you think is the role of patronage in supporting the art ecosystem, as you’ve witnessed thus far in your time with Audemars Piguet Contemporary?

DP: The best support for me is the one that encourages experimentation. That is why Audemars Piguet Contemporary offers a “carte blanche” for artists to imagine any proposition they want. The art ecosystem needs to trust in the artist’s practices in order to develop new research and new ideas.
AT: Supporting artists by commissioning new artworks is fundamental. By supporting artists and helping them to create works that may not have seen the light of day, we are playing our part in the ecosystem, and learning a lot in the process. A key element for us is to foster a global community of creators. Every time that we collaborate with an artist, we grow this community, which is very exciting.

Click here to learn more about Audemars Piguet Contemporary.