“Pop Forever, Tom Wesselmann & …” at Fondation Louis Vuitton

If you’re planning on spending a few days in Paris, a must do is a visit to the (still relatively) new Louis Vuitton Fondation. On a recent trip to the City of Light, we hopped on the petite shuttle parked discreetly off the Arc de Triomphe and in minutes stood in front of the impressive structure, designed by the renowned architect Frank Gehry.  Soaring above us, the building is a testament to the mission of the Fondation which is to make art and culture accessible to all and we can definitely add architecture to those, too. 

Fondation Louis Vuitton’s 2024 – 2025 artistic season marks the 10th anniversary of its opening. The program of exhibitions continues to demonstrate the influence of Modern Art masters on today’s artists.  On view currently is “Pop Forever, Tom Wesselmann &…” (till February 24, 2025) with upcoming exhibits dedicated to David Hockney (spring 2025) and later in the year, Gerhard Richter (autumn 2025).

“Pop Forever, Tom Wesselmann & …” is dedicated to Pop Art, one of the major artistic movements of the 1960s. Tom Wesselmann (1931-2004) was one of the leading figures of the movement and the exhibition includes a selection of 150 paintings and works in various materials. It also features 70 works by 35 artists of different generations and nationalities who share a common sensibility for “Pop” – from its Dadaist roots to its contemporary manifestations, and from the 1920s to the present day.

In the late 1950s, Pop Art surged on both sides of the Atlantic, in North America and Europe. Comic strips, advertising, cinema, celebrities, food processors and tabloids all became painting subjects. When they were not paintings themselves, they were photographic images glued or mechanically reproduced onto the canvas. Pop Art celebrates the marriage of art and popular culture and presents an aesthetic that extends far beyond the artistic realm and prevails to this day. It’s difficult to say when the movement began, and it’s impossible to close the chapter on it. It is this premise of a timeless Pop Art, “Pop Forever,” that is presented in a two-pronged exhibition which is simultaneously a retrospective and a thematic show.

Born in 1931, Tom Wesselmann began painting in the late 1950s, embracing the iconographic vocabulary of his time, incorporating advertising, billboards, images, and objects in his work. Halfway between painting and sculpture, his works also incorporate multimedia elements (light, movement, sound and video). As for his huge, spectacular Standing Still Lifes, at the crossroads between painting and installation, they introduce a format that was unseen at the time. With works ranging from Wesselmann’s first collages in 1959 to his large-scale embossed still lifes, his landscapes and his 2004 Sunset Nudes, the exhibition spans across all four floors of the Fondation’s building and is chronologically linked to Wesselmann’s works and themes. The end result is a time capsule of sorts that uses the artist’s work as a starting point to develop a more general presentation of Pop Art.

You can practically spend an entire day at the Fondation which includes outdoor installations, a mesmerizing waterfall, captivating grounds, a fantastic restaurant onsite and a gift shop that delivers. Think about taking a micro-tour which is guided by cultural mediators.  It’s an opportunity to get a quick look at the architecture of the Fondation Louis Vuitton or the exhibition. Try out the concept on your own or with other visitors and get a quick shot of culture to acquaint you with the place. No reservation is required.

Shuttle:  Departs every 20 minutes from Place Charles-de-Gaulle – Etoile, at the top of Avenue de Friedland. (Service reserved with a ticket and transport ticket – return journey for €2, for sale at the website or on board).