La vie devant soi
Anniversary exhibition

August 31 - October 30 2024
Opening on Saturday August 31 
with 13 galleries on rue Chapon

After 35 years...
Berdaguer&Péjus, Grégoire Bergeret, Cathryn Boch, Brodbeck & de Barbuat, Gaëlle Chotard, Céline Cléron, Erik Dietman, Luka Fineisen, Hreinn Fridfinnsson, Joël Kermarrec, Mehdi-Georges Lahlou, Charles Le Hyaric, Frédérique Loutz, Raphaëlle Peria, Dieter Roth, JC Ruggirello, Elsa Sahal, Linda Sanchez, Didier Trenet, Sabrina Vitali, VOID.

As time goes by...

Günter Brus, Michael Buthe, Tony Carter, Michael Craig-Martin, Johan Creten, Lotta Hannerz, Jürgen Klauke, Philippe Parreno, Sigmar Polke, Françoise Vergier.


Galerie Papillon: poetry, humour and derision
by Élisabeth Couturier - Art Press June 1st, 2023 n°511


Galerie Papillon is a family business launched in 1989 by Claudine Papillon, the mother, who was joined in 2007 by the daughter, Marion Papillon, who is also the president of the Comité professionnel des galeries d'art.

"Galleries all do the same job, but not in the same way", said Marion Papillon. We couldn't agree more. As co-director with her mother of Galerie Papillon, this young, fortysomething woman is also the president of the Comité professionnel des galeries d'art since 2019 and the creator of Paris Gallery Weekend. Lucidly, she said: "Our company is an old gallery, since we celebrated our 30th anniversary in 2019, but also grappling with the new rules of the game. To keep our collectors, we have to rekindle demand, take risks, expand our proposals, without betraying our singularity." In the French landscape, n°13 rue Chapon in Paris is effectively distinguished by the constancy of its positions, thanks to the permanent updating of a state of mind placed under the sign of the creative freedom of "maverick" artists. Why is there no plaque next to the front door indicating "Galerie Papillon & fille"? "Apart from the fact that it is not customary in the art trade" Marion said, "the name of a gallery is now the equivalent of a brand." When she decided to come and work officially with her mother 16 years ago, their association resulted in a discreet change of name, but only 9 years later, in 2016: Galerie Claudine Papillon simply became Galerie Papillon. For the daughter, this decision had to do with respect: "I didn't want Claudine's long journey to disappear." A journey that began with about ten years working with Ninon Robelin, the founder of the Galerie Bama. Then, in 1989, supported by several artists who were ready to follow her, she opened her own establishment, Galerie Claudine Papillon, in a large space on rue de Turenne. But 6 years later, the crisis related to the Gulf War forced her to sell the walls. The adventure nevertheless continued in smaller venues. In 2004, Claudine moved into the space we know today. Marion continued: "Also, for many collectors, we represent a form of stability. And even though we are not really targeted by investors, our longevity is reassuring for the new generation of buyers who are generally mindful of not losing money." The two women resolutely reject the frenzied race for extravagant turnovers. This is neither their playground nor their goal. The gallery is a medium-sized family business that is managing to stay afloat, roughly deriving 30% of its revenue from fairs, 50% from gallery exhibitions, and 20% from their own collection. "It is extremely rare for us not to sell anything in exhibitions. But even so, when we are going through hard times, we do the same thing as our seasoned colleagues: we sell a historical work", Claudine admitted.

 AUDACIOUS MOVE

They are keen to spark curiosity amongst their visitors. The challenge lies in proposing a different parenthesis to art lovers. The latter are seized with a feeling of well-being upon entering the light-filled premises, located at the end of a pretty paved courtyard in the Marais. Original proposals and subtle curatorial choices invite them to take their time. Here, each work and each exhibition contribute to a common theme which Claudine summed up as follows: "poetry, humour, derision." She added, "I have always been attracted to works that reflect very personal universes, somewhat on the margins. I like bricoleurs." She confessed: "I never wanted to devote the gallery to painting alone, even though I first exhibited Sigmar Polke, Jean-Michel Alberola and Patrick Caulfield, whom I consider to be very great painters. I have a penchant for multimedia artists, those who play with materials." Might this be the influence of Erik Dietman, the brilliant sculptor and post-Dada designer, who was her companion for more than 20 years until his death in 2002? And whom she exhibited regularly. Dieter Roth and Hreinn Friðfinnsson, other well-known disrupters of gender and categories, were also on board. The next generation is now led by Berdaguer&Péjus, Gaëlle Chotard, Cathryn Boch, Céline Cléron, Jean-Claude Ruggirello, Elsa Sahal, the VOID collective and Didier Trenet. So many singular trajectories, obsessive experimenters, irreverent inventors. "I went forward with de termination, whilst leaving things to chance," Claudine said, before adding: "I like to understand how a work enters into dialogue with the history of art and I still have a taste for curating. I also like to sell to individuals, that way you are sure of sharing your choices with someone. Just yesterday a customer, who has been saving up for four years, came to buy the work he had spotted: a book by Erik Dietman whose cover is made of sticking plasters. A moving moment for us both." How did the change take place when the daughter came to join the mother? "Fortunately, explained Marion, we are very complementary. I came here with a good knowledge of the gallery, but with another way of working because my background was in communication in the cultural sector, and I had computer skills. We have never had any substantive problems. We currently represent 24 artists. A third of them are historical and followed Claudine. The others were shared choices. If one of us has a bad feeling about something, we walk away." Claudine continued: "Generally speaking, we don’t fall out with our artists because their freedom is the most important thing for us. When we do separate, it happens naturally. Sometimes it’s because the work changes, or because we both agree that the collaboration is no longer so productive." A mixture of serenity and insight emerges from our interview. Despite a solid and recognized past, they know that the future is written in the present: "We live in a very difficult world", Marion said. "At a time when the French scene is beginning to attract interest from international collectors, our artists need visibility. Hence the need to be present at the fairs. And why not imagine opening a branch abroad." An audacious move? The sign that nothing can be taken for granted.