Dispatches: Courier’s Perks from Paris

Louis Vitton Foundation 1_Vesela Sretenovic

Fondation Louis Vuitton

Courier trips come in a package of “pain & pleasure.” The former includes long hours of waiting in cold cargo areas with no coffee machines, at times delayed flights, riding in trucks, waiting for customs clearance, and frequent jet lag…but at the end of the tunnel, there are the pleasures of seeing new places and a lot of art! On a recent courier trip, we had the chance to visit the new Parisian museum Fondation Louis Vuitton, designed by architect Frank Gehry and opened to the public in October 2014 on the outskirts of Paris’s Bois De Boulogne. It is an amazing sailboat-like edifice made of glass and concrete that makes you feel small yet comfortable, showcasing contemporary art. In addition to the current exhibition of art from China, there are a few art commissions, including Ellsworth Kelly’s paintings for the auditorium, as well as Olafur Eliasson’s mesmerizing installation with sound. These courier’s perks make you alive and ready to jump on a plane again!

Vesela Sretenovic, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art 

Louis Vitton Foundation 2_Vesela Sretenovic

Fondation Louis Vuitton

Olafur Eliasson side by side_Vesela Sretenovic

Olafur Eliasson’s “Inside the horizon” (2014) installation

Louis Vitton Foundation 3_Vesela Sretenovic

Fondation Louis Vuitton

Ellsworth Kelly auditorium side by side_Vesela Sretenovic

Works by Ellsworth Kelly commissioned for the auditorium

Setting the Scene for Seeing Nature

bare walls 3

View of the Seeing Nature galleries just after walls have been painted.

Manager of Exhibitions Liza Strelka snapped photos of the galleries where we’re preparing to install Seeing Nature: Landscape Masterworks from the Paul G. Allen Family Collection. She captured the brief moment between freshly painted walls and the arrival of the works for display.

bare walls 1

Installation view of Seeing Nature just after painting the walls

bare walls 2

What will go on this blue accent wall in the Seeing Nature exhibition?

Behind-the-Scenes: Installing Gauguin to Picasso

install in process_1_Renee Maurer

Paul Gauguin’s NAFEA faaipoipo (When Will You Marry?) gets an inspection before hanging in in the Phillips’s galleries. Photo: Renee Maurer

Phillips Curator Renee Maurer and Associate Registrar for Exhibitions Trish Waters snapped photos as Gauguin to Picasso: Masterworks from Switzerland, The Staechelin & Im Obersteg Collections was installed early last month.

install in process_3_Renee Maurer

Installing Paul Gauguin’s NAFEA faaipoipo (When Will You Marry?). Photo: Renee Maurer

install in process_4_L Renee Maurer R Trish Waters

(left) Installing works by Alexej von Jawlensky. Photo: Renee Maurer (right) Curator Renee Maurer with Chaim Soutine’s Child with a Toy. Photo: Trish Waters

install in process_2_Renee Maurer

Installing works by Alexej von Jawlensky. Photo: Renee Maurer

install in process_5_Trish Waters

(left) The installation team with Pablo Picasso’s The Absinthe Drinker [verso: Woman at the Theater]. Photo: Trish Waters (right) Putting the finishing touches on a frame. Photo: Trish Waters