Maja Hoffmann, the Swiss art collector and heiress who is the force behind the experimental cultural complex called Luma Arles, has said of the new building: “The trick is to compose a polyphonic score where everything is ordered, but where everything is possible.” Designed by Frank Gehry, the complex shimmers in scaled refractions, as if seen through the eyes of a dragonfly. The window frames are not set-in, but reach out into the open air like escape hatches in Alice’s Wonderland. The shape of the building could have come from a Victorian copper mold used for sponge puddings and charlottes. Gehry has indeed captured everything—biology, fantasy, dessert. He’s captured the arts! Long awaited, Luma Arles opens on June 26. —L.J.

Luma Arles was featured in the June 26, 2021 issue of Air Mail. Read on