"Au revoir, chères amies." On Wednesday, March 12, just as the Musée National d'Art Moderne was beginning to unhook works from its picture rails, ahead of the complete closure of the Centre Pompidou on September 22 for at least five years of renovation work, gallery owner Jérôme Poggi was posting to his WhatsApp community photos of works that would soon be joining the crates. "My heart was heavy," he admitted, from his glass office overlooking the piazza.

After having long had a view of the reverse side of the "refinery" on Rue Beaubourg, in 2023 the dealer moved to 135 Rue Saint-Martin, in the building where the American-Canadian artist Brion Gysin (1916-1986) had lived in 1973. Gysin was a Beat Generation artist who fell in love with the tubular structure of the building designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers and had tirelessly photographed its construction. These images created the series "The Last Museum," which Poggi will be exhibiting in May. "We're going to keep the little flame burning for five years; there are enough of us to keep the neighborhood attractive," said the dealer, hoping that there are enough gallerists in the area to cushion the shock of the Centre Pompidou's closure.

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