Louis Vuitton Foundation out of the bag
- 10 years ago
A new space devoted to contemporary art has been inaugurated in Paris. Designed by American-Canadian architect Frank Gehry, the Louis Vuitton Foundation will house a permanent art collection, as well as temporary exhibitions and concerts in the auditorium.
Gehry said he wanted to design a building with a sense of movement: “We had to design a building from glass, that looked ephemeral and then that became sailing ships for me, a regatta. A sense of movement was important, so that it looks like its moving slowly through the Bois de Boulogne and that it reflects the trees and the garden.”
Construction has taken more than six years, at a reported cost of more than 100 million euros. It was commissioned by Bernard Arnault, head of luxury group LVMH, after he visited the famous Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, designed by the same architect.
Gehry found the concept exciting and enjoyed working on it: “I liked the idea of a living facade that changed, not only with the light, because of the glass and the shadows, but also the ability to light it differently and have fun with it, and invite artists to participate in the facade. I’m an architect, so I don’t presume to make sculpture. The lines between architecture and sculpture in today’s world have become very defined. So I don’t want to argue with anybody about what’s what. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, finally. You call it what you want.”
The Louis Vuitton Foundation will open to the public on 27th October.
Gehry said he wanted to design a building with a sense of movement: “We had to design a building from glass, that looked ephemeral and then that became sailing ships for me, a regatta. A sense of movement was important, so that it looks like its moving slowly through the Bois de Boulogne and that it reflects the trees and the garden.”
Construction has taken more than six years, at a reported cost of more than 100 million euros. It was commissioned by Bernard Arnault, head of luxury group LVMH, after he visited the famous Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, designed by the same architect.
Gehry found the concept exciting and enjoyed working on it: “I liked the idea of a living facade that changed, not only with the light, because of the glass and the shadows, but also the ability to light it differently and have fun with it, and invite artists to participate in the facade. I’m an architect, so I don’t presume to make sculpture. The lines between architecture and sculpture in today’s world have become very defined. So I don’t want to argue with anybody about what’s what. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, finally. You call it what you want.”
The Louis Vuitton Foundation will open to the public on 27th October.