LE FIGARO.
- What does the Bourse de Commerce represent in François Pinault's artistic universe?
Jean-Jacques AILLAGON.
- François Pinault's artistic universe is first of all the collection that he has gathered for several decades, with patience, enthusiasm and passion. From the end of the 1990s, the collector also felt the need to share this collection with the public. This is how the project to create museums was born in his mind. It was first in Venice, in two exceptional buildings, the Palazzo Grassi and then the Punta della Dogana, that this project was embodied. Since 2006, some 28 exhibitions have been presented there. From now on, it is also in Paris, in the former Bourse de Commerce which was, in the 18th century, the grain market of the capital that the collection will meet its public.This new museum will be entirely devoted to the art of our time and will therefore bear witness to the evolutions of the artistic universe of François Pinault who began by collecting the masters of the Pont-Aven school then became passionate about abstraction. of the mid-twentieth century before taking an almost exclusive interest in art in the making.
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The new life of the Bourse de Commerce
How does this major project fit into the Parisian cultural landscape?
The new museum is located in the exact center of the city, between the Louvre and the Center Pompidou. These two institutions with a worldwide reputation naturally invite it to excellence. In addition, François Pinault strongly wanted his museum to maintain fraternal relations with all Parisian institutions and, whenever possible, engage in shared initiatives with them. It is in this state of mind that we have, this year, initiated a collaboration between Pinault Collection and the BnF for the exhibition Henri Cartier-Bresson - Le Grand Jeu. I believe that one of the great chances of Paris it is the extraordinary density of places of culture that one finds there. It is, in the eyes of the world, one of the reasons for its attractiveness.The Pinault Collection museum at the Bourse de Commerce intends to contribute to this dynamism and influence.
How will you encourage the public to discover the Pinault Collection?
The whole team of the Bourse de Commerce is focused on this objective which is based largely on the quality and the pace of the programming but also on the quality of the mediation work that will be implemented to allow the widest possible audience. to share the understanding and love of the art of our time.
Regarding pricing practices, we made a point of aligning ourselves with the average prices of public institutions allowing everyone to visit this new museum with pleasure.