Page 66 - 2022-07-01VogueLivingar

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ast year, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain was preparing
to open the doors of its latest exhibition, a collection of paintings known
as the Cherry Blossoms series. The 30 works were by Damien Hirst
— easily one of the most successful artists today — and they marked
Lhis return to solo painting. In other words, the show was a very big
deal. And not only that, but it marked Hirst’s first museum exhibition in France.
“He’s a huge name, but people didn’t have the chance to see his work, except
when you take the train to go to London,” says Hervé Chandès, the institution’s
long-time creative and general director. “So this was the premiere.”
The show was, unsurprisingly, a great success. But it would be easy to look at the
Cherry Blossoms exhibition and conclude that the Fondation Cartier is yet another
art gallery putting on yet another blockbuster exhibition by a megastar artist. But
for Chandès, that would be missing the point entirely.
“My goal with the Damien Hirst exhibition was to focus the attention on his art
and not on his reputation,” he says. “We’re showing artworks, not something else.
We are showing the paintings, not the celebrity.”
Take the Fondation’s next show. In July, the gallery will host the inaugural solo
exhibition of pioneering Australian Indigenous artist Sally Gabori. Born around
1924 in Bentinck Island in Queensland’s Gulf of Carpentaria, the Kaiadilt woman
only began painting in her 80s, but managed to produce an extensive, vibrant
and distinctive body of work in the years before her death in 2015.
“She is a very famous painter in Australia, but she is unknown in France,” says
Chandès, drawing parallels between Gabori’s profile and that of Hirst. “So in 2021,
you have Damien Hirst and in 2022, Sally Gabori. Same gallery. Same length [of
exhibition]. For me, this is what the Fondation is about.”
Sitting in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, the Jean Nouvel-designed Fondation
Cartier was founded in 1984. Its aim, says Chandès, was to bring modern art to
the masses. “When the Fondation was created, it was completely new,” he says.
“Today, the visibility of contemporary art is huge — you now have biennales and
museums everywhere — but at that time, contemporary art was really niche.”
To achieve this, Chandès says it was crucial that the operations of the
Fondation be kept at arm’s length from the main Cartier business. “The activity
of the Fondation Cartier is totally separate from the commercial side of Cartier.”
When it comes to deciding who to highlight at the Fondation, Chandès says
he picks “people whose art we like”. “It’s a very simple story,” he says of how an
art gallery in the heart of Paris landed on a major exhibition of an Indigenous
artist from remote Queensland. “Someone from the Fondation visited Australia
a few years ago and had the chance to see a Sally Gabori exhibition. They returned
with a book and when they showed it
to me, I took it and said, ‘Let’s do this,’
without having seen anything for myself
in person. Immediately, I was filled with
emotion. The work was shocking, just
beautiful. It was decided in minutes.”
Sydneysiders were also treated to
a taste of Chandès’s passion for the
arts when the Fondation Cartier took
part in the 23rd Biennale of Sydney.
Created by American musician and
soundscape ecologist Bernie Krause,
The Great Animal Orchestra was an
immersive installation that ran until
mid-June, and was also projected onto
the sails of the Sydney Opera House
for three nights in March.
“It’s a great biennale,” says Chandès.
PARIS and meet people. I’m going back to France
“For us, it’s an opportunity to share ideas

with so many new ideas, emotions and
memories.” Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda
Sally Gabori runs from July 3 to
November 6; fondationcartier.com