Crisis Spurs New Art Collections at Louis Vuitton Foundation and Louvre Abu Dhabi

Despite the economic crisis reducing art market transactions in New York galleries, two major collections have been unveiled. In late May, the Museum of Art in Hong Kong opened an exhibition of the Louis Vuitton Foundation's collection, curated by Suzanne Pagé, former director of the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. The collection, assembled by Bernard Arnault over three years, includes established names like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andreas Gursky, and Gilbert & George, as well as younger talents such as Pierre Huyghe and French contemporary artists like Bertrand Lavier. The future Paris venue, designed by Frank Gehry, will feature a glass roof reflecting the trees of the Jardin d'Acclimatation, with opening scheduled for autumn 2012. Also in late May, the Louvre Abu Dhabi ("Louvre des sables") inaugurated an exhibition of its first acquisitions, including a sublime bodhisattva purchased for €1 million from Parisian dealer Christian Deydier and a Mondrian bought for €18.2 million at the Bergé-Saint Laurent sale. France-Museums oversees acquisitions with an average annual budget of €40 million and plans to commission contemporary artists. The museum is set to open in September 2013. Amid the crisis, Abu Dhabi and Vuitton—which still sees double-digit growth in Asia—represent a land of plenty where ambitious projects continue.