Last year in June, I got to visit the still quite new museum of contemporary art in Paris, the Louis Vuitton Foundation located in Bois de Boulogne. This majestic and elegant building is a masterpiece of contemporary architecture and definitely needs a visit when in Paris, you will be blown away. It was designed by Frank Gehry, an internationally well-known architect living in Los Angeles and author of Bilbao museum or the Dancing House in Prague. The realization of this construction has been recognized by various prices in France as well as abroad.
Already from a distance, you can see a colorful building which reminds a huge sailing boat dancing on the waves. Currently, the glass sheathing is covered with filters of different colors contrasting with the greens around.
Inside on the lower floors, you will find a collection of modern art created by 150 pieces from 71 artists including paintings, sculptures, projections and sound artworks, although evolving constantly. Honestly, I did not really like the Chinese art I saw inside. But what impressed me, was a 9 channel video installation “Ten Thousand Waves” of Isaac Julien.
The open spaced terraces are accessible from the upper floors and connected together by stairs. They offer a nice view including the view of the Eiffel Tower or La Défense. Every day from May 2016 until 2 May 2017, you can visit Daniel Buren’s “Observatory of Light”. This project plays with colors, transparency, and light – over 12 sails (the emblematic feature of the building), there are 3,600 pieces of glass covered by colored filters. During a sunny day, they project different colorful lights on the white ground of the terraces.
Practical information
You can easily get to the place by public transport – I took the metro to Les Sablons (line 1) and then headed towards the park and followed the signs for Foundation Louis Vuitton (about 15 minutes’ walk). But there is also a shuttle service leaving from Place Charles de Gaulle every 10-15 minutes.
It is good to buy your tickets online in order to avoid the queue.
Louis Vuitton Foundation
Bois de Boulogne, 8 Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, 75116 Paris
More information, agenda, and tickets: www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr
Have you visited Louis Vuitton Foundation? How did you find it?