Historians’ Stories: Alfred Pacquement

A discussion at the B&E Goulandris Foundation Amphitheatre

Thursday, October 30, 2025 | 20.00-21.30

On the occasion of the exhibition Takis 1∞, the B&E Goulandris Foundation inaugurates a new series of discussions in its Amphitheatre, under the title Historians’ Stories. Five times a year, historians—mainly of art, but not exclusively—share their career paths with the public, through landmark exhibitions, significant publications and unique expertise, in conversation with the Foundation’s Head of Collections, Marie Koutsomallis-Moreau.

The second discussion in the Historians’ Stories series will take place on Thursday, October 30, featuring speaker Alfred Pacquement, former Director of the National Museum of Modern Art at the Centre Pompidou, who during his career dedicated three major exhibitions to Takis.

Initially a member of the team at the National Center for Contemporary Art, Alfred Pacquement later joined the Centre Pompidou, where he served as Curator of Contemporary Art until 1987. He went on to become Director of the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, Delegate for the Visual Arts at the Ministry of Culture and Director of the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts. In September 2000, he was appointed Director of the National Museum of Modern Art at the Centre Pompidou, a position he held for thirteen years. Since 2019, he has been the Head of the Musée Soulages in Rodez and of the Fondation Bemberg in Toulouse.

Curator of dozens of exhibitions in France and abroad, Alfred Pacquement has in recent years overseen shows dedicated to Richard Serra, Pierre Soulages, François Morellet, Simon Hantaï, as well as Giuseppe Penone and Lee Ufan at the Palace of Versailles. He also served as President of the jury of the Marcel Duchamp Prize from its inception until 2013.