Echoed in the ethos of Vacheron Constantin, acclaimed British artists, Rob and Nick Carter often turn to cutting edge technologies to realise their visions and bring new resonances to historic works of art and design.
The exhibition is on show at Club1755 in London. The Carter’s art adapts pioneering tools and techniques of today, such as computer-generated technology.
Club1755, embraces the quintessential British private club heritage, and is named after the year of Vacheron Constantin’s founding. The space provides a unique setting for clients to immerse themselves in the finest service that Vacheron Constantin is renowned for, and a vibrant hub for art lovers, taste makers and connoisseurs to come together, exchange ideas and share unique experience.
Here, works evoke the unseen aspects of luxurious objects such as a glowing cibachrome print showing the hidden workings of an analogue camera akin to the intricate complications of a Vacheron Constantin timepiece.
Among the highlights of the exhibition is the Diamond Photogram series: twelve unique works created with 100 diamonds totaling over 40 carats, each piece representing a constellation from the Zodiac. These images were created without a camera or lens; instead, each constellation was exposed onto light-sensitive paper in a single flash of light. The result is a striking preservation of the diamonds’ essence, revealing their surfaces in a way never seen before.
This interplay of light, time and material echoes the very foundation of watchmaking, where every mechanism embodies an intricate choreography of time. Like the Carter’s work, horology is both a science of precision and an art of permanence.
Another centrepiece, Transforming Five Tulips, is a 32-minute looped film capturing five varieties of tulips as they wilt and decay over six days. By accelerating moments of stillness while preserving real-time movement, the film creates a hauntingly beautiful meditation on time’s passage, offering a powerful parallel to the horological pursuit of capturing time with technical and aesthetic mastery.
Also on view is Black Tulip, a sculptural reinterpretation of a 1643 watercolour by Dutch Golden Age artist Judith Leyster. The Carters translated the original two-dimensional work into a three-dimensional bronze using advanced 3D modelling and the centuries-old lost-wax casting technique. The result is a tactile tribute to historic art, reimagined through contemporary tools, embodying a fusion of old and new that is central to both the Carters’ and Vacheron Constantin’s creative philosophies.
Mastering Time & Light is on until the end of September 2025 at Club1755, 45 Old Bond Street, London, W1S 4AG.
For more information please visit Vacheron Constantin