Some insights about the third François Pinault Art Museum...

A part of the Pinault Contemporary Art Collection is ready to move into the new Parisian site close to Bourse de Commerce. Despite the previous declarations, unfortunately, it will still take a few months to see the definitive end of construction works. 

The project started in 2017, however, the museum will be finalised in June 2020 by following the wooden model project that many of us have seen exhibited during the Venice Biennal or maybe by visiting the Tadao Andō exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in 2018. Considering that Bourse de Commerce of Paris is an exquisite historic building dating back to 1767, with an impressive fresco positioned in the dome iron structure from 1813, it was a real architectural and urban challenge for Pinault and Andō. Indeed, for that time, this structure was a great novelty and for this reason it was presented at the 1889 Universal Exposition (together with the Eiffel Tower). Discover more about François Pinault Punta Della Dogana - Palazzo Grassi spaces... 

With the creation of this new museum, I am writing the next chapter of my cultural project, whose goal is to share my passion for contemporary art with as broad an audience as possible. (François Pinault)

The new project has maintained the circular structure of the building, the dome and the frescoes were restored for this occasion. About the new elements: in the lower part there is a sort of concrete cylinder of nine meters in height with a diameter of 29 meters, which sees at the top a corridor of 91 meters. With a total area of 13 thousand square meters, 7700 are located in seven spaces that, from the ground floor to the second floor, will host the exhibition and pedagogical environments, an auditorium with 288 seats, a restaurant and other services.

Read more about what can happen when private businesses meet Contemporary Art.

By nesting new spaces within it, while respecting the memories of the city engraved in its walls, I will transform the building’s entire interior into a space for contemporary art. The theme here, once again, is to create a building that connects the past with the present and the future. (Tadao Andō)

But what does truly mean this operation in the context of Paris and for the personal history of this great entrepreneur? François Pinault, 83 years hols, is a French billionaire businessman, founder of the luxury group Kering (which includes brand as Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen) and the investment company Artémis that among several other assets control also the auction house Christie’s. As reported by the New York Times:

«It will be Paris’s second billionaire-funded art space after the Fondation Louis Vuitton, which was inaugurated in 2014 by Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive of the rival luxury-goods group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. (The two tycoons recently made headlines when Mr. Arnault’s family pledged 200 million euros, or about $224 million, and Mr. Pinault’s committed €100 million toward the rebuilding of Notre-Dame de Paris after the fire at the cathedral.» (Farah Nayeri)

The Pinault Collection includes over 5 thousand artworks between Modern and Contemporary Art, all belonging to François Pinault, an important businessman and culture mecenate. So, very soon some of his artworks with name like Marcel Broodthaers, Tatiana Trouvé, Zeng Fanzhi, Thomas Schütte, Cindy Sherman, Albert Oehlen, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Louise Bourgeois and Thomas Houseago (just to mention few of them/51 Most Popular Contemporary Artists); and other important cultural projects promoted by him, will find a new amusing space.

Find more out on Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection.

Cover image: Bourse de Commerce—Pinault Collection. Photo ©Patrick Tournebœuf/Tendance Floue for the Pinault Collection, Paris. 

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