Paris’ Palais de Tokyo reopens
![Descending the main staircase of the reopened Palais de Tokyo leads to this saturated work by Ulla Von Brandenberg. Alas, no skateboarding allowed.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6RfqZChb7GXYkqxikKtEWW-415-80.jpg)
Last Thursday the Palais de Tokyo reopened its enormous doors. And they remained open for 28 hours straight. The extended free access - complete with eclectic round-the-clock programming - was the first glimpse at a major expansion project that adds 14,000 sq m to an already impressive destination for contemporary art in Paris.
Interestingly, the expansion was not a new build; rather it was an existing space, dating back to 1937, that had been closed off from the public for three decades. The architecture firm of Lacaton & Vassal was responsible for the overhaul, which primarily focused on filling the cavernous lower level with natural light from clerestory windows and adding a train station-style glass roof to the main gallery. Unlike most cultural spaces in Paris, which are funded by the city, this one was supported by the French state.
In French a makeover is known as a 're-looking', and this strikes as a better, if not more conceptual, way to understand the recent changes as the Palais de Tokyo still comes across as very much unfinished. A massive suspended sculpture by Peter Buggenhout, incorporating twisted bits of metal and other industrial materials, appears as if it's a remnant from the construction, preserved for posterity. Walls are still unpainted and it was unclear whether a pile of timber, cordoned off by caution tape, was rubbish or an art installation (likely the former).
Which is not to dismiss the extensive contribution of Lacaton & Vassal, who also oversaw the building's first major renovation in 2002. Speaking to W*, Lacaton said that as a continuation of their first 'intervention', they wanted to explore the possibilities of the space and explore its full potential and capacity. Of the windows, Lacaton says, 'It gives a quality of transparence. There's now a certain lightness and even fragility.' She adds that the inherent beauty of the space allows it to maintain an 'in-progress' look and feel. 'My wish is that after every exhibition, it would become empty and then recomposed again,' she states. 'There is a real freedom of use.'
Compared with museum projects that strive for in-your-face architectural impact, this state of rawness feels just about right. On Friday afternoon, with ten hours still left in the public view, new president and longtime curator Jean de Loisy proudly quipped in a mock Italian accent that the look was 'brutta, brutta!' (Translation: ugly.)
Among the various artists invited to create site-specific works within the 22,000 sq m space, W* 2011 guest editor Christian Marclay stole the show with his stained-glass comic-strip windows near the entrance, which explode with 'shrruuuuf', 'splorch', 'kra-sakk!' There's also an intricate interpretation of the Big Bear constellation in twine and black light by Julien Salaud entitled 'Grotte Stellaire' (star-studded cave) in one of the basement rooms.
Windows facing out to a courtyard shared with the Musée d'Art Moderne are currently covered in culturally charged text illustrations by Dan Perjovschi, further proof of windows as art medium. One reads: 'A history of mankind, from Big Bang to Big Mac.'
The Palais de Tokyo will officially open on 20 April, with 'Intense Proximity', a Trienniale exhibition. A second restaurant to complement the existing café, Tokyo Eats, is forthcoming, as is a 400-seat screening room.
A view of the gallery space on the uppermost floor of the Palais de Tokyo, with the main staircase at left
As if suspended mid-collapse, Peter Buggenhout’s 'The Blind Leading the Blind' sculpture occupies prime space just off the museum’s main entrance
A view from the outside of the Christian Marclay’s 'Seven Windows' that riff on the graphic sound effects in comic books and stained glass
The Palais de Tokyo is open from noon until midnight everyday (except Tuesday), so Marclay's work will be illuminated both when viewed from the street as well as from the Tokyo Eats café shown here
This curving, airy exhibition gallery will be one of the new spaces unveiled for the Palais de Tokyo’s Trienniale exhibition, beginning Friday
Look up into the centre of the the Grand Rotunda to discover Lauren Derobert's idiosyncratic formula that incorporates the Hebrew letter 'Hei' to suggest another universe that gets closer and closer to ours but never reaching it
The museum is perched on a hill overlooking the Seine. Removing partition walls and installing new windows has further opened the street level space, also renovated in 2002
In the deep underbelly of the Palais de Tokyo, artist Julien Salaud has used white thread and black light to create animal constellations as a way of tying together the prehistoric Lascaux Cave drawings and astrology
This is part of the space that had been blocked off from the public for decades. Now open, it stretches from one side of the lowest level to the other and will be used for exhibitions and events
Soaring ceilings throughout the lowest level of the museum have been complemented by renovated clerestory windows, which bathe the space in natural light
ADDRESS
13, avenue du Président Wilson
75116 Paris
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
Take off: Mathieu Lehanneur's Olympic Cauldron rises into the Parisian night sky
The Paris 2024 Olympics’ opening ceremony was closed with a soaring cauldron spectacle that will go down in history
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
Phaidon’s new Graphic Classics is a lavish greatest hits of graphic design
Graphic Classics is a compendium of seven centuries of visual culture, from the everyday and ephemeral to visionary works that reshaped our world
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Birley Chocolate hits the sweet ’n’ chic spot in London’s Chelsea
The new Birley Chocolate shop, a sibling to Birley Bakery, is a confection of colour as delicious as its finely crafted goods
By Melina Keays Published
-
Pace Tokyo is a flowing Sou Fujimoto experience that ‘guides visitors through the space’
Art gallery Pace Tokyo, designed by Sou Fujimoto in a Studio Heatherwick development, opens in the Japanese capital
By Danielle Demetriou Published
-
How the Arc’teryx Tokyo Creation Centre is all about craft, openness and cross-pollination
Arc’teryx launches its Tokyo Creation Centre, a hub for craftsmanship designed by Torafu Architects, embodying the brand's ethos
By Daniel Scheffler Published
-
Shigeru Ban has perfected the art of enclosure
Taschen’s new XXL monograph, Shigeru Ban. Complete Works 1985 – Today, brings out the sheer diversity of the Japanese architect’s work
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Craft store Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten at Narita airport is an ode to travel
The Japanese homewear and craft store Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten wows with bright interior made of moveable ‘trunks’ by Tokyo-based studio 14sd designs
By Joanna Kawecki Published
-
Space Un celebrates contemporary African art, community and connection in Japan
Space Un, a new art venue by Edna Dumas, dedicated to contemporary African art, opens in Tokyo, Japan
By Nana Ama Owusu-Ansah Published
-
Monospinal is a Japanese gaming company’s HQ inspired by its product’s world
A Japanese design studio fulfils its quest to take Monospinal, the Tokyo HQ of a video game developer, to the next level
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Modern Japanese houses inspiring minimalism and avant-garde living
We tour the best Japanese architecture and modern Japanese houses designed by international and local architects that open up possibilities for all types of lifestyle, from minimalist to communal in Japanese architecture.
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
An Aoyama House exemplifies a synergetic architect and client relationship
A client’s faith in his architect pays dividends in Aoyama House; a light-filled, effortlessly elegant Tokyo home
By Jens H Jensen Published