Hauser & Wirth have revealed plans for a new gallery in Paris, to open in 2023. Sited at 26 bis rue François 1er in the city’s bustling 8th arrondissement, home to the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe (which was recently wrapped by Christo), the branch will occupy the entirety of a nineteenth-century hôtel particulier, as posh town houses are known in France. Renovation of the four-story, 8,600-square-foot structure is being overseen by Parisian architect Louis Laplace and will include the restoration of the twenty-foot-high ceilings that previously graced the building’s ground floor. Hauser & Wirth will not be the mansion’s first art-dealer tenants: a decorative arts gallery held the space in the 1940s.
“We have made no secret that we have been looking for the perfect home for Hauser & Wirth in Paris for some years and I’m delighted that the search is now over,” said gallery cofounder Iwan Wirth in a statement. “We have a deep respect for the incredible cultural community in Paris. The city’s importance for artists is undisputed over the centuries and we look forward to adding to this rich history.”
The outpost, which arrives as the Paris art market heats up in the wake of Brexit and the attendant loss of luster suffered by London, will be the gallery’s eighteenth to date: Hauser & Wirth operate multiple galleries in New York, Zurich, and Somerset, UK, as well as individual spaces in Los Angeles; Southampton, New York; London; Gstaad and St. Moritz, Switzerland; Hong Kong; Menorca and Hernani, Spain; and Monaco. Its second Los Angeles gallery, in a disused vintage car showroom, is to open this fall, coincident with the gallery’s thirtieth anniversary, which it is celebrating this year.
