Enlarge Photo

High-profile commercial galleries and experimental art spaces are pushing beyond Paris’s city center and claiming new frontiers for art.

Since the late 1980s Parisians and tourists alike have flocked to the Parc de la Villette (www.villette.com) in Paris’ northern-most district for concerts, exhibitions, and theatre. This mega arts complex—built on the site of former slaughterhouses—gentrified an industrial area with a science museum, music museum and multiple performance venues. It will also be the new home of the Paris Philharmonic (the building is designed by Jean Nouvel and slated to open in 2014). In the meantime, other art spaces are following suit, bringing art and culture to Greater Paris.

Here are three to keep in mind:

This October, Thaddaeus Ropac will unveil his second Parisian gallery—in Pantin, not far from Parc de la Vilette—in a former 19th century ironware factory. The soaring sky-lit galleries boast 22,000 square feet of exhibition space, spread across multiple buildings, which will allow for large-scale art installations as well as performance-based programing. The inaugural shows will be new work by Anslem Kiefer (large-scale paintings, installations, sculptures, collages and books) and a historical show of work by Joseph Beuys, related to his famous 1969 performance Titus Andronicus/Iphigenie.

Also opening a post-Périphérique outpost this fall is art impresario Larry Gagosian. Gagosian’s new showroom takes over a 1950s industrial building in Le Bourget (best known for its private airport, which will make it easy for jet-set collectors to swoop in and out) that has been redesigned by Jean Nouvel. Gagosian will open the doors of his 17,760 square-foot, bi-level gallery with—coincidentally—an Anselm Kiefer show.

R4 is an expansive arts initiative on Ile Seguin, a 30-acre island at the western edge of Paris. The large-scale multi-purpose art venue (also an industrial space repurposed under the direction of Nouvel) will eventually include five floors of gallery space, auction rooms, workshops, a conference hall, and outdoor exhibition space. A soft-launch in July 2012 featured a festival of outdoor artworks and live music. This fall, R4 will host a philosophical conference in collaboration with FIAC.