oil on canvas merry-go-round
“His paintings are simply stunning, not only does he capture the essence of life, he captures a time period like no other artists. The expressive nature of the character combined with his colour palettes really makes his work unique and significantly original and influential.
I definitely tried my best to still honor his work while remaining through to my style as best I could. It was a great experience to be honest. So I hope that makes others happy seeing his work being brought into another new light perhaps,” Mark Conlan.
The brilliant Ukrainian artist Oleksandr Murashko, whose paintings served as the basis for the collection, like no other, could immerse people in the magic of light with his works. It was appreciated not only in the artist's homeland, but also in France, Germany, and other countries.
For this reason, we decided to create this collection in collaboration with the talented Irish illustrator Mark Conlan – in order to rethink the works and adapt them to Mark's personal style, while preserving the magical colors of the paintings.
Specifications
- ETA 63.031 movement (8 ruby stones, Switzerland), 74-month power reserve;
- sapphire front and back cover glass;
- case and bracelet material – ceramic;
- 50-metre water resistance;
- butterfly clasp;
- 38-millimetre case diameter;
- 10,3-millimetre case thickness;
- 20-millimetre width of the bracelet;
- limited edition of 200 items.
Carousel (1906), taken as the basis for the Merry-go-round model (eng., 'carousel', 'whirlwind'), is perhaps the most famous work of the artist, which brought him European recognition. At the 10th Munich International Exhibition (1908), the author of the painting was awarded a gold medal.
The artist himself will later say about the painting, “I wanted to convey the whole whirlwind of the carousel movement, as well as all the brilliance of its farcical decorations, and the shyness and joy of village girls who first came to the city, bought themselves new city clothes, dressed up and sat on the wooden horses of the carousel for the first time in their lives ...”
As part of the adaptation process, we decided to enlarge the central part of the painting, depicting the main characters, and pull the secondary environment back.
The next challenge was working with the transmission of light and emotions. The scrupulous selection of colors and drawing of the characters gave an amazing result. Despite the simplification and reduction of the number of the details relative to the original works, Mark managed to perfectly convey the mood of the paintings.
In order to emphasize the artist's work, we chose ceramics for the case material. When developing the dial display, our engineers and designers spent a lot of time and sketches to find a balance between the convenience of determining the time and the "weight" of the elements that should be placed in the illustration. The result was totally worth it!
The watch has an ETA (Swiss brand) premium quartz movement with a 7-year power reserve installed. Sapphire spherical glass will securely protect against scratches. The case size is 38 х 10.3. The transparent back cover with an engraving reveals the operation of the mechanism. The elegant slim case is equipped with a decorative bezel, and the strap is also made of ceramics.
The extensive box cover contains an original illustration made by Mark Conlan.