Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain has opened its new home in the heart of Paris, on Place du Palais-Royal, and is celebrating the relocation with a major exhibition titled Exposition Générale. Running from October 25, 2025, to August 23, 2026, the exhibition traces over 40 years of the Foundation’s commitment to contemporary art and cultural innovation.
A Dialogue Between Architecture and Art
Founded in 1984 by then-Cartier President Alain-Dominique Perrin, Fondation Cartier has long served as a platform for experimentation and dialogue across artistic disciplines. With this relocation, the Foundation moves from Boulevard Raspail to 2 Place du Palais-Royal, marking a new chapter with a bold architectural vision by Jean Nouvel.
Set within a restored Haussmann-style building that once housed the Grands Magasins du Louvre, the space embodies a dialogue between heritage and modernity. Large bay windows open the museum to the city, while five movable platforms expand the possibilities for display and performance. Photography, film, performing arts, science, and craftsmanship converge here, injecting new creative energy into the cultural core of Paris.
Exposition Générale — Redefining the “Encyclopedia” of Contemporary Art
The inaugural exhibition, Exposition Générale, presents nearly 600 works from the Foundation’s collection. Featured artists include Claudia Andujar, James Turrell, Sarah Sze, Olga de Amaral, Junya Ishigami, Cai Guo-Qiang, David Lynch, Annette Messager, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, among more than one hundred international names.
The exhibition is organized around four central themes: Machines d’architecture (Architectural Devices), Être nature (Being Nature), Making Things, and Un monde réel (A Real World). Each theme weaves together perspectives on architecture, nature, technology, and the future, inviting a reexamination of the role and meaning of art in contemporary society.
Heritage and Reinvention
The title Exposition Générale draws inspiration from the 1855 Exposition Universelle, the first world’s fair held in France on the same site. That historic event celebrated the intersection of industry, art, and science, serving as a symbol of emerging modernity.
For this new chapter, the exhibition design has been conceived by Formafantasma, the Italian design studio known for its intellectual and material approach. Drawing from historical exhibition typologies, they reinterpret the space as a “modern encyclopedia,” uncovering the experimental and social dimensions that shaped early world expositions while offering a fresh, contemporary reading.
Toward an Open Future for Art in Paris
The new Fondation Cartier stands as an open platform where art breathes in rhythm with society. Echoing Jean Nouvel’s architectural philosophy, it represents a meeting point between past and future, city and nature, technology and emotion.
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