The Fondation Cartier and The New Role of Contemporary Art Museums: New Architectures for Paris and New York
Talk
(c) (left) OMA and bloomimages.de; (right) Luc Boegly
Villa Albertine Headquarters
972 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10075
Tuesday, February 25, 2025 | 6:00pm
Join Villa Albertine for a talk on two cutting-edge museum projects.
Paris-based curator, Béatrice Grenier, will discuss the project of the new Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain: an exciting new venue for contemporary art in the center of Paris, next to the Louvre. She will be in conversation with Shohei Shigematsu, OMA Partner and architect of the New Museum’s imminent expansion in New York.
Secure your spot today – register here!
Panelists
Béatrice Grenier is a Paris-based curator, writer and editor. She is currently the Director of Strategic Projects at the Fondation Cartier where she is curating an exhibition on the architecture of Jean Nouvel as part of the collateral program of the XIX Venice Architecture Biennale. She was appointed co-curator of the inaugural exhibition of the Fondation Cartier’s new headquarters at Palais-Royal, opening in 2025. In 2024, she was a contributor to “Metropolitan Nature”, the Mondrian Initiative annual residence where she co-curated, together with Emanuele Coccia “On Modernity” a series of conversations with internationally acclaimed architects published in e-flux’s Index series (2025). At the University of Toronto, Beatrice is currently collaborating with Professor Aziza Chaouni on a research project about expanding heritage in the UNESCO world heritage city of StoneTown, Tanzania. Beatrice is the author of Tashkent: A Modernist Capital (Rizzoli), Infinite Memory (ed.) (Lenz Press). She is the Paris desk editor of ArtAsiaPacific and a regular contributor to contemporary art and architecture publications such as Domus, Pin-Up and the Journal of Curatorial Studies. Prior to her current role, Beatrice was based in New York where she worked with internationally acclaimed artist Cai Guo-Qiang to realize large-scale public art projects.
Shohei Shigematsu is a Partner at OMA based in New York. Sho’s projects in the arts include the AKG Art Museum in Buffalo, the Pierre Lassonde Pavilion at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, and a new building for the New Museum in New York, currently under construction. He has designed several cultural venues such as the Audrey Irmas Pavilion in Los Angeles, Sotheby’s Headquarters in New York, Faena Forum in Miami, and has also collaborated with various artists including Marina Abramović, Cai Guo-Qiang, and Taryn Simon. In addition to cultural buildings, he has worked with fashion brands and museums on major exhibition designs, including Louis Vuitton Visionary Journeys in Bangkok; Dior retrospectives in Denver, Dallas, and Tokyo; Prada Waist Down in Tokyo, Seoul, New York, and Los Angeles; and Manus x Machina at the Met Costume Institute.
In partnership with
Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain
The Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain is a forum for discussion and artistic experimentation that places contemporary art in all its forms, its exhibition, and its accessibility to the public at the core of its institutional mission. Since its founding in 1984 by Alain Dominique Perrin, who was President of Cartier at that time, its activities have promoted collaboration and exchange across artistic disciplines. Built up over the course of its exhibitions, its Collection reflects the multidisciplinary and breadth of the themes it explores through its programming, in resonance with society and contemporary stakes.
The Fondation Cartier carries out its activities and commitments with the desire and ambition to make contemporary art accessible to everyone. Through its program of exhibitions and events, the Fondation Cartier creates pathways between creative spaces and fosters a genuine environment for multicultural exchange.
Its new Parisian premises, located at 2 Place du Palais-Royal in a Haussmannian building constructed in 1855, have been completely reconceived by architect Jean Nouvel. The dynamic architecture he envisioned, consisting of five mobile platforms, allows for fully adjustable spatial configurations and lighting variations, multiplying the possibilities for programming and exhibition-making. The architecture acts as a flexible system serving the institution’s commitments, open to the broad spectrum of visual arts, crafts, performance, and science.
Expanding its potential, the Fondation Cartier has turned this unique venue into a space for educational innovation and shared aesthetic experiences, where artists and audiences come together to open up new perspectives on contemporary art and culture.
Office of Metropolitan Architecture
OMA is an international partnership practicing architecture, urbanism, and cultural analysis. Established in 2001, OMA New York has overseen the completion of diverse projects globally. Shohei Shigematsu is a Partner at OMA and Co-Director of OMA New York. Cultural buildings designed under his leadership include the Faena Forum in Miami Beach (2016); the Pierre Lassonde Pavilion at the Quebec National Museum (2016); Sotheby’s headquarters in New York (2019); and the Buffalo AKG Art Museum in New York (2023). Notable works in progress Include the ReefLine underwater sculpture park in Miami Beach and a mushroom pavilion at Casa Wabi in Mexico.