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Tycoon’s ‘Vanity Project’ Opens in Paris

Tycoon’s ‘Vanity Project’ Opens in Paris
Tycoon’s ‘Vanity Project’ Opens in Paris

Architect Frank Gehry opened his latest project on Friday, the more than 100-million-euro Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, which has bowled over critics.

Glistening in the morning sun in west of the city, with billowing glass casing and white concrete panels, the nearly 12,000-square-meter building resembles an iceberg, AP reported.

Gehry used the occasion to show the building to the media; it will officially open to the public at the end of October with a special exhibit dedicated to him.

The structure was commissioned to house the art collection of billionaire Bernard Arnault, the CEO of the world’s biggest luxury group, LVMH, Louis Vuitton’s parent company. It also will be used as an art gallery with some 11 display spaces of different sizes.

Decorated with ‘L’s’ and ‘V’s’, the building has been branded by some as a “vanity project” of tycoon Arnault, Europe’s richest man.

 It’s About Art

But for Gehry it’s about the art. “The idea for me became of a building that had movement, sails,” said.

He said the bare, unfinished-looking nature of the glass atriums, like a blank canvas, was designed to encourage other artists to “intervene” and use the space in the future. He said contemporary artist Daniel Buren plans to paint on the structure.

The well-known architect created the titanium-encased Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles, where he is based.

The 85-year-old, who appeared frail, also spoke of his love of Paris as a place that has touched him artistically for more than half a century.

 

Financialtribune.com