Based on a suggestion by the sculptor César to Alain Dominique Perrin, the president of the Fondation Cartier, it was inaugurated in 1984 on the spacious grounds in Jouy en Josas. It defined itself within a spirit of openness, as a crossroads, a place of fertile chemistry between curious personalities. During those first ten years, the workshops, the residence program, and the exhibitions brought together the most interesting French and foreign artists of their respective generations, from César to Chéri Samba, Raymond Hains to Jean-Michel Othoniel, Fabrice Hybert to the Velvet Underground musicians.
From the very outset, the Fondation Cartier was open to all forms of creative expression and committed to the most contemporary trends in art. It has put dancers, musicians, designers, filmmakers, fashion designers and bakers to work, and acquired pieces from Scottish artist Douglas Gordon, American videomaker Matthew Barney and French artist Alain Séchas when they were just starting out.
Above all, the Fondation Cartier has sought to emphasize the relationship between the many artists, authors, philosophers, museum and exhibition curators who have given it form, and an ever-growing public, which has witnessed and contributed to the success of this original enterprise in arts patronage.
en / The Collection / The Artists
