Sneak Peek Into The Future
A look at which foundations will be opening and closing
Fondation Galeries Lafayette
Originally launched in 2013, the Fondation d’Enterprise Galeries Lafayette was established to support emerging contemporary artists. In the second-half of 2017, it will move its French base to a 19th-century building currently being renovated by OMA in Paris’s Marais district. In the interim leading up to the formal opening, the foundation has set up Lafayette Anticipation, which is producing a series of short films entitled Mutant Stage that investigate its own architectural evolution through in-situ encounters with directors and performers.
Pinault Collection
In 2018, the Tadao Ando-designed museum for the collection of Christie’s owner François Pinault will open in Paris. Slated to be housed in the converted Bourse de Commerce in Les Halles in central Paris, it will be mere minutes from the Louvre and Centre Pompidou. Acquired with a 50-year lease, it is part of a €1 billion project to revive the Les Halles district. While the exact date and name of the upcoming institution are yet to be announced, it will have Martin Bethenod as director. Pinault’s previous spaces are all located outside of France in Venice’s Palazzo Grassi, Teatrino di Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana.
Fondation Martell
Cognac in 2021 will see the opening of the Fondation Martell in one of its revamped factories. The 1929 Bauhaus-style building was originally under the architectural helm of Jean Chalard and has since been taken over by Olivier Brochet of Brochet/Lajus/Pueyo. As the first contemporary art museum to pop up in Cognac, Natalie Viot will serve as the director and curator who will guide the cultural programme, incorporating art, design, architecture, craft and technology. “Our vision for the Foundation revolves around the idea of a creative ecosystem, a transversal platform,” stated brand director Axelle de Buffévent to Wallpaper. “[With] a brand new visual identity, an immersive installation by Vincent Lamouroux on the ground floor, a boutique area and the “Passage”, which links the street to the heritage cellars, the Martell brand is catching up with history, and modernity.” With two of the six floors slated to be fully functional by 2018 as gallery and artist residency spaces, the main 6000-square-metre foundation space will remain in the works until 2021.
La Maison Rouge
Parisian contemporary art foundation La Maison Rouge, lauded for its programme of private collections and outsider art, will be closing its doors in 2018. Launched in 2004 by collector Antoine de Galbert in a refurbished factory space in the 12th arrondissement, news of its closure comes unexpected. “I think I can say that it takes courage to get involved in a venture like this. And I believe that courage is also needed to put an end to it,” de Galbert explained to Artnet. “I can’t see how we could do any better or go any further. When I created La Maison Rouge, I knew that it would end one day. It seems preferable to me—if I may say so, even if lacking modesty—to quit while you’re ahead rather than risk closing down at a lower point.”