Paris: A bold new landmark building for the heart of the French capital to mark the 40th Anniversary of the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain has been announced. The space, created by renowned architect Jean Nouvel, is set to open at the end of 2025 on the historic Place du Palais-Royal. This will be another milestone for the Fondation, which has remained one of the high points of the cultural landscape in Paris for four decades.
This will be a benchmark, a new chapter in the Fondation’s story and will once again confirm that the Fondation Cartier is interested in the avant-garde of art and architecture and contributes to urban development and the city’s cultural growth. The location is situated in the impressive Haussmannian building, previously part of Napoleon III’s urban remaking. First inaugurated as the Grand Hôtel du Louvre in 1855, it successively became the Grands Magasins du Louvre in 1863 and, finally, the Louvre des Antiquaires in 1978.
Nouvel’s design revitalises this site, establishing a dialogue between the building’s historical roots and the modern, often vibrant art that will be shown within. The facades will be fully opened to the exterior using large bay windows, framing striking views of Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Rue de Rivoli, and Place du Palais-Royal. Through them, visitors and passersby alike can enjoy fresh perspectives on the city.
The building, which consists of 8,500 square meters of public space and 6,500 square meters of exhibition space, will be fitted out with five mobile platforms. These will provide flexible exhibition space that can be shifted around to offer endless ways of expression. With 11-meter-high ceilings and 1,200-square-meter walkways, the building will present an exciting challenge for artists and visitors.
The foundation was established in 1984 and remains at the core of its current Foundation. “We continue the same philosophy we started with in 1984 in Jouy-en-Josas, then on Boulevard Raspail. Now we will be on the Place du Palais-Royal, across from the Louvre,” explained Alain Dominique Perrin, Founding President of the Fondation Cartier.
Nouvel sees the new building as an expression of a different freedom for artists. “It’s another space that demands audacity,” said Nouvel. “It’s for what one can’t do elsewhere because it allows artists to try out how art should be presented.”
The Fondation Cartier was founded in 1984 by Alain Dominique Perrin, then President of Cartier International. France’s first corporate Foundation is solely devoted to modern art. It opened at Jouy-en-Josas before moving to its current location on Boulevard Raspail in 1994 into a striking glass-and-steel structure by Jean Nouvel.
Open, transparent, and wall-free, the building was revolutionary. It was conceived as an ever-changing space that would be constantly reconfigured according to the requirements of each exhibition. Over the years, this radical space has inspired many artists, expanding how art is experienced. In 2025, the Fondation Cartier will bid farewell to Boulevard Raspail and move to Place du Palais-Royal, a new home in the heart of Paris.
As part of the 40th-anniversary festivities, the Fondation Cartier is producing a six-episode podcast series to retrace its history from its beginnings in Jouy-en-Josas to those formative years on the Boulevard Raspail. Unreleased interviews and accounts of the exhibitions and artists make up this podcast series: Voir venir, Venir voir, will go online from 17 September, with one new weekly episode.
The Fondation will also show an installation of portraits of some of the artists and personalities it has worked with over the past years. Portraits by Jean Nouvel, Agnès Varda, Patti Smith, and Ron Mueck will appear in the large bay windows of its future home at Place du Palais-Royal. Ultimately, to continue celebrating its Anniversary in style, the Foundation will publish over 160 exhibitions illustrating four decades of artistic intervention: Voir venir and Venir voir. It will be launched on 9th October 2024. Finally, on 20th October, the exhibition of Olga de Amaral at the current Boulevard Raspail site will be free. Information on 20th October can be found at the Fondation Cartier’s official site.
The year-long celebration looks back at the Fondation Cartier’s past and looks forward to a bright future in its spectacular new home.
Photo courtesy Fondation Cartier