The Foundation was established in 2001 by Claudine and Jean-Marc Salomon to stimulate awareness of contemporary art practice in the Francophone community. Aiming to appeal to a very broad audience, the non-profit foundation based in Annecy, France, organizes exhibitions, lectures, and panels, and publishes books and monographs.
The Foundation has shown the work of major contemporary artists including Gilbert & George, Jan Fabre, François Morellet, Wolfgang Laib, Roman Opalka, Niele Toroni, Peter Saul, Rona Pondick, Olafur Eliasson and Giuseppe Penone. It has also shown the works of emerging and mid-career artists, including Philippe Cognée, Damien Cabannes or Samuel Rousseau.
It operates as a non- profit organization out of two venues: its headquarters and exhibitions spaces in the city of Annecy, and a sculpture park at the Château d’Arenthon. Both are in Haute-Savoie, in the French Alps, a short distance from Geneva, Switzerland. The Foundation moved into its new headquarters in 2014. Called La FabriC, it is housed in the old Salomon factory in Annecy and was conceived as an experimental space.