Frank Gehry will have an autumn in Paris

Frank Gehry is looking to have an eventful autumn, but much of the excitement will take place 6,000 miles away, in France.

The Los Angeles architect will be the subject of a career retrospective exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris starting Oct. 8. Later that month, he is expected to unveil his newest building -- the Fondation Louis Vuitton, a new cultural center and quasi-museum that will feature artwork from the corporate collection of the luxury conglomerate LVMH.

The Fondation Louis Vuitton, which officials said will open to the public on Oct. 27, is located on the outskirts of Paris in the Bois de Boulogne, and will feature 126,000 square feet of space. The building features Gehry’s signature sail-like formations and will have transparent views of the surrounding areas thanks to an abundant use of glass.

Among the goals of the center will be the display of contemporary and modern art in both permanent and temporary exhibitions. The idea for the building was born in 2001 when Gehry met with Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH. The design for the building was unveiled in 2006.

Arnault is a billionaire collector who has been ranked by art magazines as one of the top art buyers in the world. It remains unclear if the center will feature works from his personal collection. One of its first exhibitions will be devoted to exploring Gehry’s designs for the new building.

An opening ceremony for the Fondation Louis Vuitton will take place Oct. 20, followed shortly by the public opening. Reports have put the price tag for the building at more than $100 million.

Gehry’s retrospective at the Pompidou is scheduled to run Oct. 8 to Jan. 5 and is expected to provide a survey of his entire career.

Twitter: @DavidNgLAT

[Updated: a previous version of this post had an incorrect public opening for the Fondation Louis Vuitton. It is Oct. 27, not Oct. 28.]