Podcast Summary

The Grand Tourist with Dan Rubinstein

Episode: The Grand Tourist Reports: A New Home for the Fondation Cartier

Release Date: October 22, 2025
Host: Dan Rubinstein
Guest: Beatrice Grenier, Director of Strategic Projects & International Programs, Co-curator of the inaugural exhibition

Brief Overview

In this special "Grand Tourist Reports" episode, Dan Rubinstein takes listeners to Paris for an inside look at the highly anticipated opening of the new Fondation Cartier, now housed in a historic Haussmanian building at Place du Palais Royal. Rubinstein speaks with Beatrice Grenier about the institution’s rich history, Jean Nouvel’s innovative architectural intervention, the significance of the site’s legacy, and what the new era promises for contemporary art, interdisciplinarity, and museum experiences in the city.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction to the Fondation Cartier and Beatrice Grenier

• Beatrice's Background & Role

  • Studied and began her art career in New York, working for artist Cai Guo-Qiang.
  • Joined Fondation Cartier through her work on major art projects and experience managing Cai's private foundation.
  • (03:21) “We were working…with Frank Gehry as an architect to develop an archive space…Cartier approached me…to work with the Atelier Jean Nouvel to coordinate this ambitious transformation. So I somehow crossed the Atlantic without really knowing.”

• History of the Fondation Cartier

  • Founded in 1984 by Maison Cartier to democratize access to contemporary art, pioneering corporate cultural philanthropy in France.
  • Initially based in Jouy-en-Josas, focused on artist residencies and site-specific works, before relocating to Jean Nouvel’s iconic glass building in Paris’ 14th arrondissement in 1994.
  • (04:47) “There was really no culture of…corporate sponsorship in the arts in Europe, in France especially. And Maison Cartier was really the pioneer in…creating this kind of cultural philanthropy.” — Beatrice Grenier

Institutional Identity & Evolution

• Boundary-Pushing Exhibitions

  • The Fondation has a legacy of championing disciplines and topics before they gain mainstream recognition (e.g., data science, botany, cutting-edge design).
  • Past exhibitions include Issey Miyake’s “Making Things,” “Architecture Machines” with early work by Liz Diller, and “Nous les Arbres” (Trees), highlighting overlooked connections between humans and nature.
  • (07:36) “We wanted to open in this new building with an exhibition that would…remind…what the Fondation Cartier is about and how it has…pioneered bringing and identifying fields…that the…more mainstream…art world doesn’t recognize to be art yet.” — Beatrice Grenier

• Open-Minded, Interdisciplinary Ethos

  • Not just about big names—serious, profound, and forward-thinking.
  • Strives to be a gateway to other realms of knowledge (architecture, science, craft).
  • (10:09) “It’s also coming from a really wonderful…open mindedness and idea of liberty that the institution tries to share with the audiences…showing art, architecture, industrial design, botany…as being aesthetically and emotionally powerful.” — Beatrice Grenier

Why a New Space?

• Expanding the Audience and Purpose
  • The original glass building is iconic, but the Fondation’s ambitions have grown: needed more space for programs (auditorium, restaurant/café, expanded bookstore) and to facilitate new ways to engage the public.
  • (11:16) “…the ambition was…more than an exhibition space. It is really a space where culture is manifested and where audiences can come to socialize and to…and to learn in many different ways than only from the exhibition.” — Beatrice Grenier

The Building: Place du Palais Royal

• History & Symbolism

  • Built in 1855 for the World Expo; an emblem of Haussman-era modernization and democratization of culture.
  • Hosted multiple incarnations: hotel for Expo exhibitors, then the legendary Grands Magasins du Louvre department store, central to Parisian life for 150+ years.
  • (15:28) “The department store was really…inspired by what the World Expo invented…democratizing access to new artifacts and new technologies…” — Beatrice Grenier

• Jean Nouvel’s Transformation

  • Architectural challenge: blend historic preservation (protected limestone façade) with radical interior innovation.
  • Jean Nouvel gutted three floors to insert five massive, movable exhibition platforms—vertical flexibility unprecedented for such a landmark.
  • Glass bay windows open the building to the city, enhancing transparency and symbolically connecting to Parisian life.
  • (20:14) “Jean Nouvel did…he had this truly remarkable vision: gut three stories and insert at the center…five platforms…integrating this scale of movement within a historical building is this clash of epochs that…makes this kind of aesthetic so unique, and also… very Parisian…” — Beatrice Grenier

• Movable Exhibition Technology

  • Three main floors, reimagined as five vertically shifting, wall-less “elevators,” allowing curators total flexibility to alter the internal landscape for each show.
  • (18:08) “What Jean Nouvel really invented…is a system of five movable platforms…They can be adjusted to different heights…For every exhibition, the wayfinding of the museum and the architecture…will change.” — Beatrice Grenier

The Inaugural Exhibition: Exposition Generale

• Concept

  • Nod to the building’s history, inspired by the department store’s own public exhibitions (“Exposition Generale”).
  • Thematically bridges art, architecture, industrial design, craft, nature, science, and technology—blurring disciplinary boundaries.

• Highlights

  • Exit (2008): Multimedia mapping of environmental data, produced for COP15, by Paul Virilio, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Laura Kurgan—bringing the urgency and complexity of climate change into the gallery.
    • (22:26) “How can we show data about our planet in a sensitive and impactful way in a museum setting, so that audiences can be moved and understand…climate change, migration…financial crisis…a kind of mini university of social science.” — Beatrice Grenier
  • Works by Bernie Kraus & Soundwalk Collective (bioacoustic soundscapes at risk of extinction).
  • Monumental feather installation by Solange Pessoa (Brazil).
  • Works by Olga de Amaral (Colombian textile art).
  • (22:26) “It’s an exhibition…so fantastic in terms of showing our human ignorance vis a vis the esthetic world of nature.” — Beatrice Grenier

The Spirit of the New Fondation Cartier

• A New Cultural Model

  • The move is not simply about size, but a philosophical shift: the museum as a “reliable content editor,” aiming to be a center of knowledge, research, and cultural exchange.
  • (00:00) “I think that architects are…shaping what the new museum, its cultural policy can be…I hope that the museum is… going towards…recognizing its role…as really a content editor…”

• Three Defining Words

  • (25:41) When asked to distill the new project in three words:
    • “Open. Exhilarating. Completely new.” — Beatrice Grenier

Notable Quotes

• “Maison Cartier was really the pioneer in…creating this kind of cultural philanthropy.” — Beatrice Grenier [04:47]
• “It’s also coming from a really wonderful…open mindedness and idea of liberty…showing art, architecture, industrial design, botany…as being aesthetically and emotionally powerful.” — Beatrice Grenier [10:09]
• “What Jean Nouvel really invented…is a system of five movable platforms…for every exhibition, the wayfinding of the museum and the architecture…will change.” — Beatrice Grenier [18:08]
• “A kind of mini university of social science…so that audiences can be moved and understand all…climate change, migration.” — Beatrice Grenier [22:26]
• “Open. Exhilarating. Completely new.” — Beatrice Grenier [25:41]

Suggested Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – Architects as content editors and cultural policy-makers
• 03:21 – Beatrice Grenier’s background and path to the Fondation Cartier
• 04:47 – Origins of the Fondation Cartier and its cultural impact
• 07:36 – Landmark exhibitions and the institution’s ethos
• 11:16 – Reasons behind the move and expansion
• 13:05 – A deep dive into the building’s architectural history
• 15:28 – The department store legacy and the “Exposition Generale” concept
• 18:08 – Jean Nouvel’s movable platforms and radical rethinking of gallery space
• 22:26 – Highlights of the inaugural exhibition
• 25:41 – Three words to define the new era

Tone & Style

The episode maintains an informed yet accessible tone—Rubinstein’s curiosity meets Grenier’s erudition and warmth. Listeners are treated to vivid narratives, anecdotes, and detailed architectural and curatorial insights, making it an engaging journey for art/design aficionados or those simply curious about Parisian culture.

For further details, listen to the full episode or visit the Grand Tourist archive.