They Have Watches but We Have Time

As part of Archtober 2026, the exhibition is conceived by Swiss designers Iskander Guetta and Quang Vinh Nguyen. They Have Watches but We Have Time takes over the waiting room of the Swiss Consulate with an installation exploring design, time, and power. Featuring 12 Mondaine clocks, it considers time as a material of design and asks what happens when we understand clocks not simply as measuring tools, but as instruments that organize relations and shape identity by forcing multiple temporalities into a single timeline.

The exhibition marks the 21st edition of the Consulate’s curatorial initiative Art @ the Consulate, which presents contemporary art and design. It is also part of a larger collaboration with the two designers, unfolding through a public program on October 12 & 13, 2026. Highlights include a lecture, performance with the designers and WAI Architecture Think Tank at Van Alen Institute on October 13, alongside a Walk with Black Gotham Experience On The Other Side of Wall Street on October 12.