French art dealer Emmanuel Perrotin, who operates galleries in Paris, Hong Kong, New York, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and LA, has donated 23 artworks by 17 artists to the Pompidou Centre in Paris. The artists, who are all represented by Perrotin, include Elmgreen and Dragset, Sophie Calle, Bharti Kier, Takashi Murakami and Tavares Strachan.
Led by its director, the works were selected by curators from the museum and offer ‘a wide panorama of contemporary art from the past 20 years,’ the Pompidou’s team said in a statement. The selection includes artists who were already present in the museum’s collection, alongside those entering it for the first time.
All of the artists agreed to give up their share of the sale, while Perrotin also waived his commission. The value of the donation exceeds the museum’s relatively small annual acquisition budget of almost $2 million.
The newly acquired artworks will be shown at the museum from 14 October. ‘This donation is a tribute to the artists and to their place in the collective history of the Musée National d’Art Moderne,’ Perrotin said. ‘Every artist dreams of being part of the collection of the Centre Pompidou’.
