Met and Vacheron Constantin Unveil Works From Craft Residency

By Elena Vasquez

Three artists unveiled new works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art this month, completing the 18-month Artisan Residency Programme run jointly by the Met and Swiss luxury watchmaker Vacheron Constantin.

The artists are Aspen Golann, Ibrahim Said, and Joy Harvey. Each spent extended time at the Met in New York and at the Vacheron Constantin Manufacture in Geneva, then used those experiences as launching points for original pieces. The program's stated purpose is to pass on, preserve, and reinterpret traditional craft techniques.

How did the partnership begin?

Vacheron Constantin launched the residency with the Met in May 2025. It is the company's third museum partnership. The first, with the Louvre, dates to 2019; a partnership with the Palace Museum in Beijing followed in 2024. That puts the Geneva firm's museum alliances at three institutions across three countries within six years.

What did each artist make?

Aspen Golann produced a monumental wooden vessel adorned with nature motifs carved in bas relief, titled Vessel. She drew inspiration from a series of wooden chests made between the 17th and 19th centuries in Connecticut and Pennsylvania — works that exemplify a neoclassical New England style in the Met's collection. At the Manufacture, Golann trained with artists in enameling and engraving.

Ibrahim Said created Shaping Time, a three-tiered vertical sculpture with relief carvings, piercings, and glazed surfaces. The work draws on ancient Egyptian and Islamic objects held by the Met. Said also studied enameling and engraving in Geneva, plus lacquer painting.

Joy Harvey made Ruined splendour, a bronze diadem of forged rhomboid elements interlaced with panels inspired by the filigree of ancient Greek necklaces. After the diadem was assembled, Harvey pierced it with rods to create its "ruination." Her sources included ancient jewelry in the Met's collection from Greece, India, and China. At the Manufacture she learned guillochage, a technique for engraving intricate patterns such as leaves and flowers onto metal.

Each work pairs an object study in New York with a hands-on metal or decorative technique acquired in Geneva.

What does the Met say?

Met CEO Max Hollein called the program "a collaborative initiative that embodies our mutual commitment to supporting artistic innovation and cultural dialogue," according to a statement.

The unveiling marks the first completed cycle of the Met partnership. Whether the program renews for a second cohort — as the Louvre relationship, now six years old, has sustained — remains the open question for craft-focused observers.