Exposition Générale

Tickets available at tinyurl.com/2pzfd8a6 Exposition Générale showcases both the Fondation Cartier's artistic identity and its legacy, through nearly six hundred works by more than one hundred artists who have participated in its programming since 1984 to the present day. Reflecting the institution's history and its openness to the world in all its diversity, the Fondation Cartier Collection bears witness to forty years of contemporary international creation. The exhibition draws from this unique collection, shaped and built over time through its programming. The inaugural presentation includes solo exhibitions and thematic ensembles that reflect the Fondation Cartier's long-standing artistic commitments. Architecture, living worlds, technology, and the sciences are explored through emblematic works and key fragments of selected past exhibitions that have defined the history of the institution. The title Exposition Générale echoes the 19th century exhibitions of objects and clothing once held in the Grands Magasins du Louvre. Existing at the same time as the World Fairs - whose first Parisian edition in 1855 coincided with the building's construction during Haussmann's urban transformation – these "Expositions Générales" (general exhibitions) served as spaces of discovery and social encounter and offered a new understanding of material culture. The building may be seen as a symbol of modernity in Paris, which the Fondation Cartier intends to bring into dialogue with its Collection. In the spirit of those early "Expositions Générales," founded on a philosophy of openness, this inaugural exhibition is conceived by the institution as a public space for experimentation and exchange in the heart of the city.