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Around Faustine’s desk on the Rive Gauche: an interview with Stéphanie Moran, founder and director of art gallery Galry
Next up in the series by our office manager Faustine Cressot, giving you regular glimpses of the neighborhood around her desk on the rue de Verneuil, is an interview with founder and director of art gallery Galry.
The 7th arrondissement (district) is renowned for the numerous antique shops and art galleries concentrated in the Carré Rive Gauche (an area famous for antiques and decorative arts).
Art gallery Galry has been at 41 rue de Verneuil since 2011. It’s distinctive for its modernism and diversity. One sunny March day, I went to meet Stéphanie Moran, its founder and director, to find out more.
Please tell me about Galry and its history.
I founded Galry in 2009, following a career that isn’t typical in this business. Formerly, I was a marketing and communication specialist for some very well-known brands. In 2005, I set up my own business to help clients by providing advice and training in marketing. I started working with artists to develop their image and their visibility and to help them become better known: art has always played an important part in my life.
I’ve now worked for more than 10 years with what I call a ‘stable’ of artists. I work alongside them more systematically than a classic gallery would. Our slogan, ‘Galry – everything but a gallery’, shows that we’re not just limited to being a physical gallery. I try to run events with my artists that are not only exhibitions but can take different forms: events outside the gallery with individuals, celebrities or institutions or even with businesses.
The common factor is the art. I focus on the image and its positioning but not just through exhibitions: our aim is to take advantage of different ways of promoting the art.
Could you say a few words about your current exhibition?
This exhibition, launched on March 6th, is called ADN – Art Design New. This is a title which, for me, exactly matches the artist, Marie Piselli, who constantly reinvents her style through her works.
We really met by chance. Marie Piselli occupies a very varied and interesting artistic world, which I discovered when I visited her studio and talked with her. I also like her as a person, which is a must for me in addition to appreciating an artist’s work. I make a personal and an artistic choice when I select my artists. It has to succeed on both levels for us to work together.
Having looked at her works, I discovered some things that I might not necessarily have thought of showing. I made a selection according to a particular time period, in line with what I wanted to show at that moment.
So this is a rather different kind of exhibition, with paintings and furniture combined with the textile designs that Marie Piselli previously worked on with the fabric house Edmond Petit. And all this works perfectly together.
How long have you been in the rue de Verneuil and why did you choose this location?
I set up in the rue de Verneuil in 2011. It was becoming important to have a fixed location to show my artists’ work. This neighborhood seemed to be a general melting pot for art, thanks to the Carré Rive Gauche and its antique dealers. They attract a certain number of collectors to whom I wanted to display my selected works.
I also thought about establishing the gallery in the 3rd arrondissement, where there are a lot of galleries. But I admit that I just love this neighborhood – where in fact I set up when I first arrived in Paris.
Also, this location was already a gallery 40 years ago. And the fact that Serge Gainsbourg [legendary French singer-songwriter] lived on this street gives it a special status. It has an artistic history.
Who are your clients?
They are mainly clients on my mailing list and individuals and collectors from the neighborhood. There are also foreigners visiting Paris and Australians and Americans who live in the neighborhood. But it all depends on the artist exhibiting. For example, the previous exhibition featured clock components and attracted a lot of Swiss buyers. It’s a theme that must have appealed to them.
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