Masterpieces? is a historic cultural event in many respects. As the opening exhibition of the Centre Pompidou-Metz, it proudly introduces the first decentralisation of a major national cultural institution – the Centre Pompidou – in partnership with regional authorities : the City of Metz, the Metz Métropole Urban Community, the Moselle Department and the Lorraine Region. Its concept encapsulates the cultural mission of this new institution in the heart of Europe, reaching out to wide audiences with an ambitious programme of exhibitions and events that shares the Centre Pompidou’s values – innovation, accessibility and cross-disciplinarity – while drawing on its know-how, network and reputation. One of the Centre Pompidou-Metz’s main assets is its preferential access to the nearly 100,000 works of the Musée national d’art moderne, Europe’s largest collection of modern and contemporary art. Gathering a rare and exceptional selection of major works, many of which have hardly ever been on loan before, Masterpieces? highlights the formidable wealth of this extraordinary collection.
A unique event with respect to its scenography and the diversity of works it comprises, Masterpieces? features the largest number of works on loan in the history of the Centre Pompidou. It embraces the over 5,000 sq.m. of exhibition spaces in the spectacular building designed by Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines. The exhibition, which is divided into four chapters, sheds new light on the notion of masterpiece, past, present and future. To do so, it reexamines this long-standing and arguably antiquated concept while applying it to modern and contemporary works of art. Masterpieces? will gradually make way for temporary exhibitions and programmes designed to contribute to shape the cultural identity of the Centre Pompidou-Metz.
The exhibition continues in Gallery 2 with Masterpiece dreams, a proposal of a “dream musuem” placing side by side containers – the museums –, and contents – the works. First we discover a parade of emblematic 20th century works of art in chronological order. On the other side of the wall, we then find for the first time a history of modern and contemporary art exhibition buildings built in France since 1937. Some thirty architectural achievements are shown off to their true value through a unique presentation of models, original drawings and filmed interviews.
