Time Has Not Passed | 108 rue Vieille du Temple
Installation view, Au 108 rue Vieille du Temple, September 8–October 10, 2026. Courtesy David Zwirner, Photo by Nicolas Brasseur
Some places remain inseparable from the people who once occupied them. For nearly three decades, 108 rue Vieille du Temple in Paris was Yvon Lambert’s gallery, but its history was shaped as much by the artists who passed through its doors as by the exhibitions they left behind. Lambert was among the first to introduce American minimal and conceptual art to France, building relationships with artists such as Cy Twombly, Sol LeWitt and Robert Ryman that extended well beyond the gallery walls.
When David Zwirner opened his Paris gallery at the same address in 2019, he inherited a space with a history of its own. By then, several artists who had been part of Lambert’s programme had also become part of Zwirner’s. The connection between the two galleries had already existed through the artists themselves.
Four decades after Lambert inaugurated 108 with an exhibition of Cy Twombly in September 1986, the two galleries came together for Au 108 rue Vieille du Temple: A Shared Legacy with Galerie Yvon Lambert, bringing works by thirty-two artists across generations into the same space. Beyond revisiting a remarkable exhibition history, the occasion offered a chance to consider what remains of a gallerist’s vision once the space itself has changed hands, and how the relationships built over a lifetime can continue to take on new forms.
As the exhibition comes to a close, noisé speaks with Yvon Lambert, his daughter Ève Lambert, and David Zwirner director Justine Durrett about the life of 108, the relationships that shaped it, and what it means for a personal history to become a shared one.
Installation view: On Kawara: Date Paintings 1966–1987, April 23–May 26, 1988, Yvon Lambert, Paris. Photo: Konstantinos Ignatiadis/Yvon Lambert Gallery. © One Million Years Foundation
Yvon, when you first saw 108, you immediately felt it could become your space. Justine, when David Zwirner arrived there in 2019, you were entering a place that already carried more than three decades of another gallery’s history. What did the address mean to each of you at those two moments?
Yvon Lambert (YL) : At the time, the Marais was the only place where you could still find large spaces available. When I visited 108 rue Vieille du Temple, I immediately saw a space that would become my space.
Justine Durrett (JD) : The history of the space was front and center when we moved in. In fact, it was one of the major factors motivating us to open here. David knew the gallery from Yvon Lambert’s time here and had a very personal connection to it. We represent several artists and estates that Yvon represented, and Yvon’s artist-centric approach really resonates with David Zwirner’s ethos for the gallery.
Forty years later, what was it like to walk into the space again?
YL: Seeing my gallery beautifully restored and transformed by David Zwirner was a great and wonderful emotion for me. I still think it is the most beautiful space in Paris.
Cy Twombly inaugurated 108 in 1986, and his work returns to the space forty years later. Yvon, has that distance changed the way you look at his work? Justine, when did you realize that forty years could become the starting point for this exhibition?
YL: Forty years have passed, but for me, time has not passed whenever I look at a work by Cy Twombly.
JD: I have wanted to do this show since we moved into the space in 2019. To me, it was evident. But the first years after our opening in October 2019 were disrupted by Covid, and in 2024 we embarked upon an ambitious renovation and expansion of the space.
When I realized that 2026 would be exactly forty years since this space was inaugurated—Yvon opened here in September 1986 with an exhibition of Cy Twombly, it felt like the perfect moment to mark this anniversary and celebrate a new chapter of 108 rue Vieille du Temple.
Cy Twombly, Untitled, 1985. Oil and crayon on paper. © Cy Twombly Foundation
Cy Twombly, Untitled, 1985. Oil and crayon on paper. © Cy Twombly Foundation
How did the idea for A Shared Legacy actually begin?
JD: When I first proposed the idea to Yvon, he said no! But I was persistent and did not give up because I knew what a meaningful project this would be for Yvon, for us, for the artists, as well as for the Parisian and international art community. Luckily, Yvon was quickly convinced and enthused. Together with him and Ève, we worked over the following months to conceptualize the show and the list of works.
Ève Lambert (EL): The David Zwirner team came to us with the idea for the exhibition. After some time to think about it, Yvon was happy to become involved. The exhibition was then developed in close collaboration between our teams, David Zwirner, the Collection Lambert and the CNAP.
The selection of artists was developed closely with the gallery, including suggestions from us that were all very warmly received. We then contacted the artists ourselves, many of whom we are still in touch with today.
Looking at the thirty-two artists in the exhibition, what connects the two galleries, and how did that shape the selection?
YL: The relationships between a dealer and the artists they represent are strong and almost daily. The artists’ talent is what brings us together.
JD: We had many discussions over the past months, starting with some of the historic shows that marked the space, such as Twombly, Basquiat, Martin, and Sol LeWitt. And of course, we wanted to highlight the commonalities between our two programs, with nine artists who overlap: Francis Alÿs, Dan Flavin, On Kawara, Barbara Kruger, Gordon Matta-Clark, Robert Ryman, Fred Sandback, Richard Serra and Jordan Wolfson.
It was also important to us to show the diversity of Yvon’s vision, and ours, with artists working across different media, practices and generations.
Installation view, Au 108 rue Vieille du Temple, September 8–October 10, 2026. Courtesy David Zwirner, Photo by Nicolas Brasseur
Installation view, Au 108 rue Vieille du Temple, September 8–October 10, 2026. Courtesy David Zwirner, Photo by Nicolas Brasseur
Yvon, has your idea of what makes an artist radical changed over time?
YL: An artist at twenty is different from the artist they become when they are older. Yesterday’s radicalism becomes normalized today.
How do you keep a forty-year history from becoming fixed in the past?
YL: Life goes on, and bravo to the gallery for not forgetting young artists.
JD: Although this show looks back at the rich history of forty years of exhibitions in this space, we really did not want it to feel too static. It was important for us to include new works by some of the artists and to create a dialogue between artists of different generations.
One example that comes to mind is Jordan Wolfson, who is the youngest artist in the show. Yvon showed one of Jordan’s first videos in 2005 in the project space of his bookstore. Fifteen years later, in 2020, we organized a solo show of Jordan in the main gallery.
Ève, that idea of continuation also extends beyond 108. When you and Yvon opened 14 rue des Filles du Calvaire in 2017, what did you want to carry forward, and what did you want to change?
EL: We wanted to take on the project together, while surrounding ourselves with some of Yvon’s former collaborators, including our bookseller, Bruno Mayrargue. The idea was to place the bookshop and publishing at the heart of the project while continuing an exhibition programme in our smaller space.
We also wanted the exhibition format to become more flexible, allowing for ephemeral events and shorter projects. Today, these three activities have become essential parts of what we do. We are always happy to receive proposals from artists, who particularly appreciate this small space and know how to make it their own.
Nan Goldin, Yvon at Notre-Dame de la Garde, Marseille, 1996. Collection du Centre national des arts plastiques. © Nan Goldin / Cnap
Alongside Au 108, Ephemera 1968–2014 tells another version of this history through invitations and printed traces. Why did you want to return to these objects?
EL: Au 108 was primarily centered on Yvon’s history in that space. But the adventure continues today at 14 rue des Filles du Calvaire. We wanted to extend that story alongside the exhibition at 108 by presenting historic invitations as well as bibliophile books, which Yvon began publishing in 1992. In 2025, we published the most recent one, made with Miquel Barceló.
Is there one invitation among them that still carries a particularly strong memory for you?
EL: There are two that I particularly like. One is Anselm Kiefer’s Die Frauen der Antike, because I have a very strong memory of that exhibition, which I loved. The other is Jean-Charles Blais’s invitation from 1985. It shows Jean-Charles painting from behind, standing on a chair in one of his first studios, which I was lucky enough to know.
After seven years at 108, does the address now hold two distinct histories, or has it become one continuous story?
JD: To me, it feels more like a continuation. The art world, and the world more generally, has of course changed so much over these decades, but the core of what we do and what motivates us all is still the same: showing great art in this great space. What more could we ask for?
Words and interview by Murphy Guo. Editor Lou.