Filmmaker Wes Anderson is recreating Joseph Cornell's New York studio in a window display at Gagosian Gallery's Paris space on Rue de Castiglione, opening next month to coincide with Christmas and Cornell's birthday on December 24. The exhibition will feature around 12 of Cornell's iconic shadow boxes, including "Pharmacy" (1943) and works from his Medici series, alongside hundreds of found objects. Curated by Jasper Sharp, who has worked with Anderson for years, the display is designed as a non-interactive window installation that captures the spirit and atmosphere of Cornell's basement studio in Queens, rather than an exact replica. Anderson and Sharp have spent weeks studying photographs and first-hand accounts, sourcing objects from flea markets and employing Anderson's film crew to replicate Cornell's handwriting and aging techniques.
This collaboration matters because it marks the first time Anderson has publicly acknowledged Cornell's influence on his filmmaking, bridging the worlds of cinema and visual art in a highly anticipated holiday-season event. The exhibition also coincides with a show of Anderson's archives at the Design Museum in London, underscoring the director's growing engagement with the art world. By recreating Cornell's studio—a space few were allowed to enter during the artist's lifetime—the project offers a rare, immersive glimpse into the creative process of a reclusive American master, while highlighting the enduring dialogue between film and assemblage art.