Rolex Mentor and Protégé Program Pairs David Hockney with Matthias Weischer

Rolex's 'Partager une vision' (Sharing a Vision) campaign, featured in Vanity Fair, pairs established artist David Hockney as mentor with young Leipzig School painter Matthias Weischer, 33, as protégé. Weischer's market skyrocketed after a solo room at the 2005 Venice Biennale; his gallery Eigen+Art sold out at Art Basel, and a 2002 painting fetched $332,000 at auction in February 2006, up from gallery prices around $20,000. Only six of his works have appeared at auction, fueling speculation. In the Rolex program, Weischer travels with Hockney from London to Paris. In an interview, Weischer said he looks forward to starting the mentor-protégé relationship, noting Hockney never had students. He acknowledged his approach to painting may change but does not yet know how. The campaign ran in the January 2006 European edition of Vanity Fair.