The Haussmannian building has been redesigned by Jean Nouvel, the Pritzker Prize-winning architect.
Luc Boegly
According to CNN
Paris, France – after a multi-year renovation project, the Cartier Foundation will open its doors on Saturday at a new location across from the Louvre in Paris.
Although outwardly little has changed, the majestic 19th-century building, formerly a hotel and department store, has undergone a radical interior rethinking. The Haussmannian building was transformed by architect Jean Nouvel, a Pritzker Prize laureate, who calls his latest project an “industrial cathedral” of modular spaces.
The dramatic exhibition space of about 6,500 m² features tall clerestory windows that create a sense of transparency and blur the boundaries between inside and outside.
Pedestrians, cyclists and city traffic serve as a theatrical backdrop, while passersby can peer into the windows to glimpse the artworks. The tall glass ceilings near the main entrance admit natural light.
“this is a dialogue with the history and urban context of the city.”
One of the most intriguing design features is a system of five steel movable platforms that can be raised and lowered in almost dozens of configurations to reinterpret the exhibition space and “reimagine” the visitor experience.
“Nothing is permanent. Not the floor, not the walls, not the ceiling… next time, perhaps this platform will be higher or lower. You’ll have a completely new perspective,” said Mati Forest, the production and architectural design director at Ateliers Jean Nouvel.
“Nothing is permanent. Not the floor, not the walls, not the ceiling… next time, perhaps this platform will be higher or lower. You will have a completely new perspective.”
Cables and cords are left intentionally exposed as “living tools” for artists and curators. The adjustable platforms allow viewing the same work from different angles – for example, from one side of Colombian artist Olga de Amaral’s “Muros en rojos” reveals fine details from thousands of knitted wool and horsehair.
Ascending a few steps, the viewer changes their relationship to the tapestry: it takes on an autumnal, pixelated amber-red and ochre backdrop, reminiscent of Bogotá’s landscape.
“Contemporary art has incredibly diverse forms.”
“And if we want to be able to present absolutely all forms of creative expression, we need a space that can adapt,” adds Bess.
The first exhibition project “Exposition Générale” pays homage to the building’s heritage as the former 19th-century Grands Magasins du Louvre department store, where the latest trends in fashion, technology, and everyday items were showcased. Works from the Cartier Foundation’s collection are distributed across four broad themes: architecture, living world, techniques and materials, and the relationship between science and artistic creation.
Although modularity can create some ambiguity due to the lack of clear guidelines, the new format allows visitors to perceive the exhibition differently.
The Role of Luxury in the French Art World
The innovative space, estimated by the media to have cost over 230 million euros to renovate, continues the Cartier Foundation’s tradition of shaping Paris’s contemporary art market.
The Cartier Foundation’s history began in 1984 in the suburb of Jouy-en-Josas under the leadership of Alain-Dominique Perrin; he became the first corporate patron in the country to support contemporary art, paving the way for Fondation Louis Vuitton (2014) and Bourse de Commerce (2021).
“We must understand that, unlike in other countries, culture in France has for decades, and even centuries, been supported by the public sector and belonged to the state.”
While the ties between luxury brands and cultural institutions in France are strengthening, Bess notes that this may seem uncomfortable to critics. Last year the Grand Palais, which received a Chanel donation, named one of its entrances after the brand’s founder, Gabrielle Chanel, which raised concerns about commercialization and appropriation of heritage, she notes.
“There is indeed a strong link between luxury and art, as luxury brands have historically been hubs of expertise and creativity,” she adds. “There is a natural bridge between these worlds.”
Public and private institutions with luxury-branded sponsorships also pursue different approaches, which reduces the risk of overlap or competition, Simod notes. Public institutions can be more scientific, encyclopedic, even cold in their fidelity to detail, while private institutions often enjoy greater freedom for an aesthetic and dynamic approach.
For the opening, the Cartier Foundation prepared 600 works from 100 international artists, including David Lynch, Patti Smith and Damien Hirst, as well as Congolese artist Bodys Isek Kingelez and Chinese Cai Guo-Qiang.
For Jean-Christophe Castelain, director of Le Journal des Arts, Cartier Foundation’s strength lies in selecting international, sometimes little-known talents who occupy an intermediate position between well-known commercial artists and more experimental niche authors.
“The Cartier Foundation sits somewhere between these worlds, and that is what makes it so strong.”
Its new central location, a fivefold expansion of space, and proximity to the Louvre promise to attract new audiences, including tourists.
Jean Nouvel was also the architect of the previous site of the Cartier Foundation, which opened in 1994 on the Left Bank. According to Simod, moving to central Paris reflects the growing role of the city on the international art scene: “Paris has returned to the central stage.”
“Exposition Générale” will run until August 2026.
Related news for you:
