Audemars Piguet, Cartier, Omega and Rolex are amongst the world’s best-known luxury watch brands. They are also the subject of Theodoros Nikolaidis’ Time Series, a collection of mixed-media pieces that explore themes of identity, wealth and the transient nature of life. Gold and silver leaf, spray paints and acrylic are amongst the artist’s materials-of-choice, which he uses to create metre-high compositions that depict timepieces – real and imagined – in styles ranging from hyperreal precision to vibrant abstraction.
Nikolaidis’ work invites a range of contemporary interpretations and comparisons. The bright colour palettes and use of branding and logos – especially in Time for Porsche (2022) and The Timekeepers (2023) – evoke the Moroccan photographer Hassan Hajjaj, often dubbed “the Andy Warhol of Marrakech”, who incorporates Louis Vuitton prints and Coca-Cola cans to merge traditional aesthetics with contemporary fashion and streetwear. Meanwhile, Nikolaidis’ exploration of mortality and concepts of value – particularly through his use of crystals – recalls Damien Hirst’s For the Love of God (2007), a platinum cast of a human skull encrusted with 8,601 flawless diamonds. In The Glimmer of Time (2022), Nikolaidis adorns a Rolex GMT-Master II with over 2,200 Swarovski crystals. These artworks ask us to consider what “luxury” really means – to not only celebrate it, but to examine, deconstruct and critique. This tradition dates back to the 16th and 17th centuries, when memento mori paintings, rich with symbolic objects such as hourglasses, reminded viewers of life’s brevity and the futility of worldly pleasures and possessions.
The most famous depiction of clocks in the history of art is, arguably, Salvador Dalí’s The Persistence of Memory (1931). Nikolaidis bends towards surrealism in The Drowning Time (2023), where a watch rises eerily from beneath the waves. Yet perhaps the most pertinent comparison is Christian Marclay’s The Clock (2010), a 24-hour montage composed from thousands of film and television clips references to time. Nikolaidis’ Art of Rolex series – which repeatedly depicts various models from the iconic brand, known for its precision and prestige – confronts viewers with a similar visual language and iconography. As Dr. Davood Khazaie, Literary Art Critic and International Curator of Pashmin Art Consortia, says: “Nikolaidis challenges us to reconsider our relationship with time – not merely as a measure of hours, but as a force that shapes our identities, memories, and experiences. His works invite reflection on the fragility of life, the value of time, and the role of luxury in defining personal and collective histories.”
theo-nikolaidis.com | pashminart-consortia.com
Image Credits:
1. Theodoros Nikolaidis, The Glimmer of Time, (2022).
2. Theodoros Nikolaidis, Green Gold, (2022).
