Two months ago, I received an invitation to participate to a “pop up” exhibition of selected artists in Paris scheduled for the beginning of May. The exhibition was being organised by the Galeria Azur and I had previously shown my work with this gallery in Berlin, so they were familiar with my work.
The gallery in Paris is situated on Rue Saint-Martin in the Le Marais area and has been used an art exhibition gallery for many years. However the current owner is now working full time in the film industry so the gallery is being let out exclusively for pop-up exhibitions.
gallery from street
I wanted to attend the exhibition opening which was on the 3rd of May as this would be a great opportunity for me to meet with the curator and my fellow exhibitors. Travelling to Paris was easily achieved by catching the Eurostar from Saint Pancras International train station through the Channel tunnel.
ramp in station
After about two hours I arrived in Paris on a glorious sunny day. I had time to have a little wander around Le Marais area first, which is an area I am not very familiar with. On my walk to the gallery I came across the old church of Notre Dame des Champs with its damaged stone arches peeking out from amongst the greenery of a small square of tall trees and lush vegetation.
side church
leafy square
Reaching the gallery, I was very pleased to see that the lighting provided by ceiling-inserted bulbs was excellent and that my two art pieces were placed very close to the entrance door therefore could be seen from the street.
Tissage 9
Florentine)
Walking around the gallery which comprised a ground floor and a well-lit basement, I was impressed by the quality of the artwork presented by international artists.
I had a long chat with Brussels artist Josianne Debatisse whose abstract tryptic work is composed of acrylic paint on black acrylic sheets. I was intrigued by the work of Anat Bodasher, an artist from Israel, who paints figurative subjects on prayer carpets and by Carolina Gutiérrez who represents hands in acrylic paint on real animal skin.
After a glass of Champagne it was time for me to go back to the Gare du Nord station in order to catch a late train back to London but before doing so I took another picture outside the gallery and of the setting sun on one of Paris’s 19thcentury block of flats. It was a delightful day.
Written and photographed by Marie-Ghislaine Beaucé
Edited by Maria Walker