On May 12 France’s national museum of modern art, the Pompidou Center, inaugurated its satellite space in the northeastern city of Metz, capital of the Lorraine region. Pompidou Center Metz has already gained worldwide distinction for the design of its building by architects Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines. The building’s curvilinear, asymmetrical silhouette has drawn comparisons to the mushroom-shaped houses of the titular characters in the popular comic strip and cartoon program The Smurfs. Addressing the theme “Masterpieces?”, the opening exhibition focuses on works from the Pompidou Center’s collection of 20th-century art, and also includes new commissions. Another French national museum, the Louvre, is likewise expanding, with satellites in the northern city of Lens and Abu Dhabi in the UAE both scheduled to open in 2012. Construction is already underway on Louvre-Lens, designed by the Japanese architecture firm SANAA (Kazuo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa).
