That same year, he was named curator of the French pavilion at the Sydney Biennale and became director of the Berne Kunsthalle, directed by Harald Szeeman 20 years before. It is the start of his career as director of European institutions: after working at the Berne Kunsthalle (1982–1985), he became director of the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris (1987–1990), artistic director of the Château d’Oiron (1991–1994), director of the National Museum of African and Oceanic Art (1994–1999), general director of the Museum Kunst Palast in Düsseldorf (1999–2006, the museum opened in 2001), and artistic director of the PAC (Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea), in Milan.
