The M.A.D.Gallery
Gift Selection

Dear Friends,

It’s well and truly winter now in Switzerland. There is already fresh snow on the mountains, and Geneva is adorned in colourful lights and decorations. Which means that there is no better time to visit the MB&F MAD.Gallery in Geneva’s old city to experience the mechanical wonderland within.

Here we highlight just a few of the entrancing mechanical artworks on display. They are all very different, but they have one thing in common: they all delight!

55® Nixie Time Zone by Adatte Design
More than 50 years ago, in the time before ubiquitous LEDs dominated our world, Nixie tubes were used to create displays for measuring and scientific instruments and calculators. 

Adatte Design, a Swiss company passionate about vintage and eclectic technologies, fell in love with the potential of Nixie tubes and, after years of research, tracked down a stock of ever-increasingly rare 50 to 60-year-old Nixie tubes in as-new condition. A great many sketches and CAD drawings later, the breakthrough idea emerged: an all-in-one time zone clock with six Nixie tubes per clock (HH:MM:SS), plus a rotating dial displaying the corresponding time of each of five cities. The technology to create all this was so original it earned a patent.

The Nixie time zone clock was designed in Adatte Design’s studio on Avenue du Léman 55, which explains the name 55® Nixie Time Zone. The clock, featuring six new old stock genuine Nixie Tubes is entirely Swiss made. 

It’s worth visiting the MAD.Gallery just to see 55® Nixie Time Zone, but there’s so much more. Here’s a quick look at a few more mechanical delights on display.

Tornado by Apical Reform for the MB&F M.A.D.Gallery
When we discovered that collaborative design studio Apical Reform was passionate about creating immersive experiences using kinetic art, innovation and technology, we were excited to collaborate on art pieces inspired by mechanical art and the pioneering spirit of the MB&F M.A.D.Gallery.

Recently launched at the M.A.D.Gallery in Dubai, Tornado by Apical Reform is a kinetic sculpture captivating the eye and mind with geometrically positioned circular metal rings creating the illusion of one of nature’s most beautiful natural phenomena: the fluidity of a whirlpool.
Tornado, a metaphor for time itself – cyclic yet ever moving – is available in an 88-piece limited edition in stainless steel with a mirror finish and an 88-piece limited edition in stainless steel with a black gloss finish.

ClockClock 24 by Humans since 1982
ClockClock 24 is the perfect fusion of kinetic sculpture and highly legible, fully functioning clock. Its hands transform from seemingly chaotic abstract rotations to perfectly synchronised alignment, displaying time in a way that encompasses both its abstract concept and the current time. The apparent chaos is in fact a precisely choreographed, highly-animated kinetic ballet lasting 40 seconds, which transforms into a calm sculpture for 20 seconds during which it displays the time. 

Behind Humans since 1982 is the Swedish artistic duo Per Emanuelsson and Bastian Bischoff, who describe their work as logical with a healthy dose of escapism. ClockClock 24 combines a unique concept with technical precision and expert craftsmanship, resulting in products carefully assembled in Humans since 1982’s Stockholm workshop.

ClockClock 24 is available in two editions: one in black with white hands and one in white with black hands.

ClockClock 24 by Humans Since 1982
Dimensions: 90 x 40 cm
Price white edition (Staron): CHF 6’500 CHF inc. Swiss VAT
Price black edition (Corian): CHF 7’500 CHF inc. Swiss VAT

Flyte
Flyte looks like a prop from a Harry Potter film, digital movie trickery transforming a seemingly ordinary looking light bulb into an ethereal art piece. But Flyte is real. Using magnetic levitation and wireless power to mysteriously float and rotate in mid-air while glowing with a seven-LED-shaped filament, Flyte is an eye-catching conversation piece and the perfect gift for any home or office. 

Designed in Sweden, Flyte is precision-crafted using premium components inspired by minimalism and vintage design. Energy-efficient LEDs inside the shatterproof bulb have a light-up time of 50,000 hours. Flyte has set the light bulb free!

Flyte comes in two versions, both with bases crafted from a sustainably-sourced walnut wood: Buckminster, named for the visionary American inventor Buckminster Fuller, has a copper cap, while Manhattan, inspired by New York’s monochrome skyline, features a chrome cap. 

Buckminster and Manhattan by Flyte
Base Dimensions : L 128 x l 128 x h 22 mm
Price: CHF 375 CHF inc. Swiss VAT

Amaoto 
Hailing from Japan, Amaoto is the perfect antidote to stress with its soothing rhythmic cycles and crystalline wind-chime-type sounds evoking the sound of rain or flowers rustling in the wind. Solar powered, Amaoto’s three pendulums begin moving when the light shines on its wooden stand. The pendulums in motion continuously influence each other, drawing paths and weaving a magic rhythm, the light energy gently fluctuating with the passing of time. 

We hope that our suggestions have made your Christmas shopping list a little more fun. So don’t be a stranger, come by and discover these amazing creations first-hand at the M.A.D.Gallery in Geneva. And if Geneva isn’t in your travel plans, don’t hesitate to contact us by phone at T +41 22 508 10 38 or by email at info@madgallery.ch for more information.