Next time you are visiting Geneva, you need to make sure you stop by MB&F's M.A.D —Mechanical Art Devices— Gallery. This fascinating cozy and intimate gallery is not only the office to some of the team members from MB&F, but also an interesting place where horology and mechanical objects blend into one.
Currently, the gallery is exhibiting work mainly from four different artists including:
Xia Hang, sculptor from Beijing, China and the main source of inspiration for the new MB&F Legacy Machine N°1 Xia Hang reviewed here. Here are some of the sculptures we saw while we were there. The sculptures are meant to be touched and play with as a link between the artist and the visitor.
Fabian Oefner a Swiss artist is presenting his 'Hatch & Disintegrating' breathtaking photographs that we featured here back in December of 2013. The three images of the Disintegrating series are exploded views of classic sports cars that Fabian has painstakingly created by deconstructing vintage roadster scale-models, photographing each component, piece by piece in a very specific position, to create the illusion of an exploding automobile. The images show exploded views of classic sports cars: intricate scale models of an eye-wateringly beautiful Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé with gullwing doors from 1954; an iconic sleek, black Jaguar E-Type from 1961; and a curvaceous sensual Ferrari 330 P4 from 1967.
Quentin Carnaille a French architect converted into an artist to explore time’s mysteries. The young artist develops an increasingly thorough reflection around the notion of time, questioning themes like infinity or relativity with the use of mirrors, magnets and mechanical watch movement parts. He is the creator of the 'Apesanteur' and the 'Infini' sculptures. The 'Apasanteur' —which can be translated as ‘Zero Gravity’ or ‘Weightlessness’—is a sculpture fitted with a levitating disk composed of thousands of mechanical watch components and suspended in air thanks to the powerful magnetic field of a magnet hidden inside the wooden base of the sculpture. ‘Apesanteur’ is an invisible link between astronomy and mechanical watchmaking in a limited edition of 12 pieces priced at around $15,000 USD.
‘Infini’ —Infinity— is made of 16 watch sculptures also composed of thousands of vintage micro-horological components that are magnetically stuck to one another. They float in an endless picture, part light fixture, part sculpture and part mirror. There, time and infinity coexist in a stunning work. 'Infini' is available in a limited edition of 12 pieces and priced around $21,500 USD.
Lastly, Berlin-based Frank Buchwald who worked as a freelance artist and science-fiction illustrator until 1993 when he turned his attention to designing and manufacturing metallic furniture. He created all manner of metal furniture until about a decade ago when he started to focus his efforts on making lamps. It took Frank many years before he felt that the designs of his sculptural lights were moving in the right direction, and an even longer time until he could say he was completely satisfied. His work titled 'Machine Lights' is literally a combination of industrial machines and lights to create captivating light fixtures and lamps that are priced between $10,900 and $27,500 USD.
At the gallery, you will also find other interesting objects and works from artists like Japanese artist Chicara Nagata whom for the past 20 years, has been dedicating his entire energy to the creation of art pieces, most commonly known as motorcycles. His motorcycles called Chicara Art I, II, III, IV and V cost approximately $407,000 USD each and Chicara Nagata became the World Champion of Custom Bike design in the Freestyle category when he presented the Chicara Art I in 2006.
Oh and if you were wondering if any MB&F machines are on display at the gallery, the answer is yes. The M.A.D Gallery is located on Rue Verdaine 11 in Geneva, Switzerland.
For more info on MB&F's M.A.D Gallery click here.
