{ Galerie Papillon }

July 4th - September 26th, 2026


Why celebrate Claudine’s 80th birthday? It’s not just about focusing on the people she loves; it’s also about celebrating a life, a story, and what she cherishes most in the world: freedom!   63 years ago, you gave your first presentation on art in your junior year of high school in Rouen; you had just opened a door to a new life where art would play a central role. 60 years ago, you were already living in Paris; you had just graduated from the École du Louvre, and you already knew that you had an interest in artists —especially the ones that were alive! You wanted to discover the creative process. 50 years ago, you walked into the Bama Gallery; you weren’t looking for a job—you decided that your life would be built around art and artists. 48 years ago, you met Erik Dietman— a very long chapter moving between Paris, the gallery, the pied-à-terre, your children, and Le Moulin—the house and the atelier. Your life was visiting museums, viewing artworks, curating exhibitions, attending art fairs, and traveling... 24 years ago, Erik passed away. 19 years ago, I suggested we work together. 4 years ago, we celebrated the gallery’s 35th anniversary together.   Where did you find the desire, the strength, and the determination to come this far? The desire? It was more of a necessity: to escape the dreariness of my provincial world, the monotony of days with no future. Thanks to art, I understood that another way of looking at life was within my reach. The strength: I was very lucky; I spent my first years in Paris not far from the Louvre. I loved the guided tours in front of the artworks, and I loved the classes taught by Cécile Goldscheider, chief curator at the Musée Rodin, who allowed me to do an internship there. By getting as close as possible to the creative process as it was taking place, I realized that the easiest art to understand was that of the era in which we lived. Contemporary art opened the doors to art history for me. Determination: without fully realizing it, I was determined—and still am—to succeed in life and to choose happiness.   80 years old—who can believe it! When we decided to put together this exhibition for “your 80s,” right from the start you wanted it to be “the beginning.” What do you like most about this new decade that’s ahead of you? That there’s still a future—and even eternity—in creation. And that I can still be defiant.   You’re not particularly fond of slogans, yet HUMOR, POETRY, and FREEDOM are certainly the words that best characterize what matters to you. Why? Because I find them—and rediscover them—in art. I lost Erik, the love of my life; I lost Raphaël, my son—a part of myself. Now, the most important thing for me is to laugh, to transform the ordinary into poetry, to choose the side of beauty, and above all, to be free—like art. Today is a good start for tomorrow.   Marion with Claudine Papillon – July, 2026     THE ARTISTS   Pierre Ardouvin – Born in 1955 in Crest; lives and works in Paris. Gilles Barbier – Born in 1965 in Port-Vila; lives and works in Marseille. Berdaguer&Péjus – Christophe Berdaguer, born in 1968 in Perpignan; Marie Péjus, born in 1969 in Rennes; live and work in Marseille. Grégoire Bergeret – Born in 1980 in Annecy; who died in 2020 in Brussels, Belgique. Cathryn Boch – Born in 1968 in Strasbourg; lives and works in Marseille. Anne Brégeaut – Born in 1971 in Clermont-Ferrand; lives and works in Paris. Gaëlle Chotard – Born in 1973 in Montpellier; lives and works in Nogent-sur-Marne. Michele Ciacciofera – represented by the Galerie Michel Rein; born in 1969 in Sardinia; lives and works in Paris. Céline Cléron – Born in 1976 in Poitiers; lives and works in Paris. Erik Dietman – Born in 1937 in Jönköping, Sweden; who died in 2002 in Paris. Richard Fauguet – represented by the Galerie Art:Concept ; born in 1963 in La Châtre; lives and works in Châteauroux. Luka Fineisen – Born in 1974 at Offenburg, Germany; lives and works in Los Angeles, United States. Hreinn Friðfinnsson – Born in 1943 in Baer Dölum, Iceland; who died in 2024 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Joël Kermarrec – Born in 1939 at Ostende, Belgium; who died in 2022 in Paris. Mehdi-Georges Lahlou – Born in 1983 in les Sables d’Olonne; lives and works in Paris and Brussels. Charles Le Hyaric – Born in 1987 in Paris; lives and works in Marseille. Frédérique Loutz – Born in 1974 in Sarreguemines; lives and works in Paris. Mathieu Mercier – Born in 1970 in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine; lives and works in Paris. Javier Pérez – Born in 1968 in Bilbao, Spain; lives and works in Barcelona, Spain. Raphaëlle Peria – Born in 1989 in Amiens; lives and works in Paris. Sigmar Polke – Born in 1941 in Oels; Poland, who died in 2010 in Cologne, Germany. Dieter Roth – Born in 1930 in Hanover, Germany; who died in 1998 at Basel, Switzerland. JC Ruggirello – Born in 1959 in Tunis, Tunisia; lives and works in Paris. Elsa Sahal – Born in 1975 in Bagnolet; lives and works in Paris. Linda Sanchez – Born in 1983 in Thonon-les-Bains; lives and works in Marseille. Didier Trénet – Born in 1965 in Beaune; lives and works in Trambly. Sabrina Vitali – Born in 1986 at Thionville; lives and works in Paris. VOID – Arnaud Eeckhout, born in 1987 in Mons, Belgium; Mauro Vitturini, born in 1985 in Roma, Italy; live and work in Brussels, Belgium.