Unspecified/General

A circular eighteenth-century building once used for trading grain, the Bourse de Commerce reopened in 2021 as the Paris home of the contemporary art collection of the businessman Francois Pinault. The structure began as a corn exchange and later served as the city's commercial exchange, its great rotunda crowned by a glass dome and ringed by a painted panoramic fresco celebrating trade between the continents. After the city granted Pinault a long lease, the Japanese architect Tadao Ando was entrusted with the conversion, and his solution was as bold as it was simple: a vast cylinder of smooth grey concrete inserted within the historic rotunda, creating a striking dialogue between the ornate old building and a stark modern interior. Within this drum and the surrounding galleries, the museum shows rotating selections from a collection of more than ten thousand works assembled over half a century, spanning painting, sculpture, photography, video and installation by leading artists from the 1960s to the present. Exhibitions change regularly, mixing thematic hangings with monographic shows and newly commissioned pieces, so repeat visits reveal something different. Its position between the Louvre and the Pompidou Centre, a short walk from the lively Forum des Halles, places it firmly in the cultural heart of the city, and on the first Saturday evening of each month admission is free. People come for the quality and daring of the contemporary art, for Ando's remarkable architectural intervention, and for the chance to see the fresco and dome of a restored historic monument. The combination of old and new, of trade and art, gives the museum a distinctive identity among the many private foundations that have enriched the Parisian art scene in recent years. Tickets are bought online or on site, and the museum is closed on Tuesdays, so it pays to check before visiting. Allowing an hour or two lets visitors take in both the art and Ando's architecture properly, and the rooftop restaurant and ground-floor cafe offer somewhere to pause. With the Louvre and the Halles close by, it slots easily into a day exploring the historic centre of the city.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: 2 Rue de Viarmes, Paris, France

Website: https://www.pinaultcollection.com

Opening Date: 22/05/2021