From 7 to 16 March, Geneva-based Fine Watchmaking company Vacheron Constantin and ECAL/Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne, featuring among the world’s top ten universities of art and design, present at the gallery l’elac (in the entrance of ECAL) the “Arts & Crafts & Design: Time according to Alessandro Mendini and his Artisans” exhibition, in collaboration with the Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte in Milan.

This exhibition, which comprises thirteen works of art, is the first to initiate a dialogue on the theme of Time between Fine Watchmaking and the world of design, arts and crafts featured in other manual disciplines.

The creations designed by Alessandro Mendini were made by renowned Italian artisans out of thirteen different materials. The dialogue between the artist, the designer, and the master artisan, between the person who conceives the idea and the one who interprets it, conveys the vitality of an economic, productive, and cultural system of which the legacy remains clearly in evidence today.

The exhibition’s cultural ambition is thus to highlight the fundamental role played by the artistic crafts within our society, by including them in an ongoing dialogue evolving in step with modern creative expression. Each piece is signed by both Alessandro Mendini and the artisan who made it.

In accordance with the wishes expressed by Alessandro Mendini, all the objects on display be designed to showcase the values of excellence of the main craft trades and materials, using techniques that are partly traditional and partly experimental. Each of the objects has its own aesthetic identity, its own visual language coinciding with the characteristics of the materials it “wears.”

In the words of Alessandro Mendini, “There are countless artistic materials and techniques, reflecting the innumerable attacks that the modern world inflicts on the grand craftsmanship traditions. These days we ‘don’t have time,’ and these thirteen works are just the kind of objects that take a great deal of it. That is why making them is meant as a demonstration. In the case in point, they speak about the beauty of works that are created, not to meet a specific goal, but as an end in themselves, and they demonstrate the existence of spaces that offer infinite possibilities in the areas that lie midway between art, craftsmanship, and design, beyond their exclusive domains.”

After the SIHH and the ECAL, Vacheron Constantin, owner of these objets d’art, will send the exhibition on a world tour to promote the importance of dialogue between artistic crafts and design. The next step will see stop-overs during the European Artistic Crafts Days (JEMA) will host the exhibition in Milan, from 5 to 14 April 2013.

Vacheron Constantin, the world’s oldest Fine Watchmaking firm which has been in business continuously for over 250 years, sees it as its duty to promote and preserve the sometimes forgotten forms of craftsmanship passed down from previous generations and which it views as an ethical and social value.

In contributing to the creation of this exhibition, Vacheron Constantin wishes to underline its commitment on behalf of Artistic Crafts as living testimonies to human genius and as authentic players in the field of contemporary design, while also highlighting the excellence achieved through combining the talents of Art, Crafts and Design.

Vacheron Constantin has always cultivated ties with the world of art and culture. It is the preferred partner of a number of cultural institutions such as the Paris National Opera, the French National Institute of Arts & Crafts, the Barbier-Mueller Museum Cultural Foundation, and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.

Enjoying international renown and featuring regularly among the world’s top ten universities of art and design, ECAL is directed by Alexis Georgacopoulos. The school currently offers programmes (a Foundation Year, 6 Bachelor, 4 Master, a MAS) in the following fields: Fine Arts, Cinema, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Photography, Media & Interaction Design.

ECAL has grown consistently in terms of student numbers (600 at the beginning of the 2012–2013 academic year) and above all its presence on the international scene. Its influence in Europe and throughout the world is reflected by numerous press articles, regular mentions in specialist and large-circulation publications, and an enviable number of exhibitions in prestigious venues such as Centre Culturel Suisse (Paris), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Cooper Union (New York), Designers’ Saturday Langenthal, Design Days Dubai, Design Parade (Hyères), Design September Brussels, documenta (Kassel), Droog Design Gallery (Amsterdam), Gallery Libby Sellers (London), National Institute of Design Ahmedabad, Salone internazionale del Mobile (Milan) or swissnex (San Francisco, Boston, Shanghai)...

Over the years the ECAL has significantly increased the number of its collaborative projects with universities of art and design around the world and with leading firms active in a wide range of sectors like Alessi, Audemars Piguet, Baccarat, BCV, Bernardaud, Cassina, Christofle, DuPont, ewo, Felco, Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, Galeries Lafayette, Hansgrohe Axor, Hermès, Hublot, Nestlé, Nespresso, Rado, SIGG, Swarovski, Swiss International Air Lines, Vitra, Wenger, Zai Ski...

Thanks to the network established at ECAL and by producing a portfolio to the highest professional standards, once they complete their studies our graduates have the choice of working for renowned companies or immediately setting up their own studios.


Exhibition from 7 to 16 march 2013
Monday to Saturday 1 pm to 6 pm
Gallery l’elac
5 av. du Temple,
CH-1020 Renens, Switzerland
Tél. : +41 (0)21 316 99 33