François Pinault recently announced the reopening of Paris’s Bourse de Commerce as the latest museum joining the Pinault Collection. The circular 18th-century building was transformed at the hands of Japanese architect Tadao Ando, who kept intact the historical monument while updating the space for its new context.
“The opening of the Bourse de Commerce, a new site in the heart of Paris to display my collection, marks a new phase in the execution of my cultural project, which is to share my passion for contemporary art with the widest possible audience,” said Pinault.
Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, Paris, courtesy of Studio Bouroullec.
Ando’s largest project to date, the original structure—outfitted with several impressive architectural feats, like a metal and glass dome ceiling, installed in 1812—was refreshed with the help of NeM agency / Niney et Marca Architects and the Pierre-Antoine Gatier agency. Conceived to generate dialogue between the building’s heritage, contemporary architecture, the collection, and its visitors, the project began in 2017 and was completed in February 2020. While much of the cavernous structure remains the same (including a stunning period ceiling mural), Ando applied a clean, contemporary aesthetic to spaces throughout the building, like an auditorium, a studio for audio and video works, a restaurant, and certain structural details within the main hall.
“My job was to transform this building into a contemporary art museum, without touching the structure that is classified as a historical monument. I was to revive the building, honoring the memory of the city inscribed in its walls, and slot another structure into its interior, inspired by the concept of Russian dolls,” said Ando. “The idea was to design a lively space that would foster a dynamic dialogue between the new and the old, which is what a site dedicated to contemporary art should be”
Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, Paris, © Patrick TournebÏuf/Tendance Floue.
The space opened with the inaugural exhibition “Ouverture,” on view through December 31, 2021. Featuring works by 30 artists across a range of mediums including painting, sculpture, installation, photography, and more, the show represents the widespread oeuvre of the collection and its focal points, like vanity, issues of death, the passing of time, and material poverty. Included are works being shown for the first time, as well as some that have been adapted specifically for the context of the Bourse de Commerce.
Photo by Laurent Dupont, courtesy of La Halle aux Grains.
