The world’s most exclusive credit card receives a special update this year with new designs and wearable technology. The American Express will in fact collaborate with the architect Rem Koolhaas and the artist Kehinde Wiley. Rem Koolhaas is one of the Pritzker Architecture Prize winners, the founder of OMA Design Group, and is considered by many to be one of the most significant architects and urban planners of his generation. Among the most important pupils of Koolhaas we read the name of the great Zaha Hadid. Kehinde Wiley is an American portraitist based in New York City. He was chosen to paint the official portrait of former US President Barack Obama.
After several options, AMEX and Koolhaas chose the architect’s Boompjes project for the Rem Koolhaas x Centurion Art Card. The project aims to redevelop a district of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, which was decimated by bombing during the Second World War. The silkscreen designs embody a “vision for better living” and pay homage to OMA, founded in Rotterdam in 1980. And now after years, the never-realized Boompjes idea finds space on the new Centurion paper. “This was a groundbreaking project for me and OMA. It was exciting to re-immerse ourselves in it and capture its dynamics in the new design for the Centurion Card,” commented Koolhaas.
The Kehinde Wiley x Centurion Art Card instead features botanical motifs. These are taken from the painting by the artist of Princess Victoire of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The painting is part of the famous An Economy of Grace series dedicated to the celebration of African American women by Wiley. The portraits feature bespoke couture suits designed by Riccardo Tisci who was with Givenchy at the time. “An important part of my work is the decorative and organic background of the person being portrayed. The design of the Centurion Card comes from my interest in botanical elements and is a reference to my distinctive style,” explains Wiley.
The Kehinde Wiley x Centurion Art Card instead features botanical motifs. These are taken from the painting by the artist of Princess Victoire of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The painting is part of the famous An Economy of Grace series dedicated to the celebration of African American women by Wiley. The portraits feature bespoke couture suits designed by Riccardo Tisci who was with Givenchy at the time. “An important part of my work is the decorative and organic background of the person being portrayed. The design of the Centurion Card comes from my interest in botanical elements and is a reference to my distinctive style, ”explains Wiley.
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The latest American Express option includes a unisex Centurion strap from Prada. The piece is made of scratch-resistant black saffiano leather and includes a hidden payment chip.
