Guillaume Houzé and colleague
Until 3 November the gallery within the French department store Galeries Lafayette is showing the work of 10 artists in an exhibition entitled "Antidote". This series of exhibitions was started in 2005 by Guillaume Houzé, the great-great-grandson of Théophile Bader, the founder of Galeries Lafayette. His mission was to remedy the lack of support for the French art scene in France, and to help to kick start the ailing French art market.
Guillaume Houzé has been supported in this project by his grandmother, Madame Ginette Moulin (the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Galeries Lafayette Group). Houzé, aged 26, has a particular interest in the French art scene ((he started to collect art when he was 14), and his exchanges with artists and a number of other key players in the art world quickly enabled him to see that the act of collecting was not only about personal pleasure but also a crucial way of supporting artists financially. Eager to take an active role in the debate, and in the spirit of sharing his passion with the broadest audience possible, Houze's 'Antidote' is an annual exhibition featuring his latest acquisitions, including the work of established and emerging French artists.
Houze acknowledges that for him collecting is a question of sensibility, intuition and passion. He's constantly at shows and in artists' studios, and he's in constant touch with gallery owners to find out about the work of new artists. He also remains very attentive to the development of the artists who are already in his collection. Perseverance and passion determine the final coherence of a collection.
Pierre Ardouvin
Mathieu Mercier is one of the key artists in Houze's collection and Mercier is also a critical figure within France's art scene. The current 'Antidote' exhibition also showcases works by Pierre Ardouvin, Eric Baudart, Michel Blazy, Etienne Bossut, Didier Marcel, Mathieu Mercier, Marlène Mocquet, Laurent Montaron, Sylvain Rousseau and Tatiana Trouvé.
Tatiana Trouve
One of Houze's aims is to introduce people to the art world and broaden the audience for artists. By exhibing in Galeries Lafayette Houze is giving visitors the chance to discover artworks in an unusual context. During the same period, Galeries Lafayette is also presenting in ten stores throughout France and at its Berlin location an event called "L'art, c'est renversant," or "Art is astounding." For an entire
month these department stores will be displaying a selection of works from the collections of the Fonds régionaux d'art contemporain.
Laetitia Chauvin
'Antidote'
until 3 November
Galerie des Galeries 1st floor of Galeries lafayette's main store
Free access from Monday to saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30p.m. (until 9 p.m. on thursdays)
40, Boulevard Haussmann
Paris
T: +33 1 42 85 12 00
Parisian Laetitia Chauvin graduated in art history before working as a researcher at the Vancouver Art Gallery (Canada) and at the Guggenheim Museum (New York). Back in France she's works at the French ministry of culture in the department of visual arts, helping artists and art centres to develop. Since 2003, she has been the European representative of the New York art world magazine and more recently has written for Code (Belgium). She is currently working on projects with Nuke magazine (France) and the space Ideal Glass in New York.
To contact her email: laetitia.chauvin@culture.fr.
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