The Giacometti Foundation celebrates the exceptional talent of Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966) at the new Giacometti Institute, which officially opened its doors at 5 Rue Victor Schœlcher in the 14th arrondissement, in Paris, France.
The new institute’s 3,700-square-foot space, located inside the former studio of artist and interior designer Paul Follot, and renovated by architect Pascal Grasso, offers art aficionados the opportunity to admire an impressive collection of the artist’s over 300 sculptures, 90 paintings, more than 2,000 works on paper, and several unfinished art pieces.
The institute which is located at the historic district of Montparnasse also hosts a full-scale replica of the original cave-like studio where one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century lived and worked for four decades.
Giacometti’s reconstructed 240 square feet studio features plenty of the artist’s favorite items, such as his paintbrushes, the artwork he was working on the day he died, his ashtrays, as well as a makeshift bed.
“We didn’t want a museum,” Catherine Grenier, head of the Giacometti Foundation since 2014 and director of the Giacometti Institute shared with the media. “We wanted a different kind of space, [focusing] on research and education. And we wanted to keep the spirit of the place… Paris has so many museums, I thought, what about an institute? We wanted to show art with more intimacy than a museum.”
Created on December 2003, the Giacometti Foundation has co-organized lots of interesting exhibitions in its effort to preserve, promote, and present the work of the Swiss sculptor. The program of this year’s available shows can be found below:
- The Beyeler Foundation (Bacon-Giacometti) in Basel (through September 2, 2018)
- The Guggenheim Museum in New York (through September 12, 2018)
- The Musée Maillol in Paris ( from September 14, 2018, to January 20, 2019)
- The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (from October 19 to February 24, 2019)