I think that 2023 may be the year that the art world fell madly in love with Paris. I get it! How could you not be enamored by the city of light, with all of its gorgeous architecture, rich food, and operatively, its even richer art collectors. If the energy surrounding Paris+ this year was any indicator, I’d say that gay Paree is now the happening spot. Wet Paint can confirm this, as the wheels are now in motion for many of New York’s most loyal stalwarts to make the move across the pond.
Such is certainly the case for Anton Kern’s director Brigitte Mulholland. “I can’t count how many times someone has asked me when I was going to open a gallery in Paris,” she gushed to me over the phone from an uber-chic +33 country-code. After nearly two decades working in New York, she has officially moved and will be opening her own gallery in the Marais this April. “People just know how much I love Paris! Everyone saw this coming for me and it’s been in the back of my mind.”
Mulholland said she’ll be rolling out her artist list slowly over the course of the year as she transitions out of her position with Kern. Wet Paint can confirm that among the artists she’s already got slated for solo shows next fall are Ryan Wilde and Sarah Dwyer, and that she’ll be kicking off her programming with two back-to-back group shows with some heavy-hitters in the mix including Julie Curtiss, Hamish Chapman, Liz Glaessner, Andrew Sim, Sean Fader, and Jessica Stoller. “It’s going to be well-rounded,” she said, of her approach to her roster. “I’m going to work with some emerging artists, some established artists.”
So does Mulholland’s choice come from excitement over Paris, or ennui back in New York? Seems like it’s a bit of both. In her own words, “I’ve been in New York for like 17 years, and I just feel like I’ve done everything I want there. Paris has always called to me. It was something I thought I never could do, then all the sudden I realized I can!”
Personally, I can absolutely relate to being a francophile, and I long for the day that I can pen my columne-de-gossipe Peinture Freîche from my pied-à-terre with a Serge Gainsbourg record playing softly in the background. Until then, I look forward to seeing the gallery scene heat up along with the global interest from collectors to reinvigorate the city as an arts destination. Mulholland’s space is on the Rue de Turenne, which is in a hub alongside other galleries such as David Zwirner,
I also admire Mulholland for her awareness that an American Girl in Paris needs to pay her dues before becoming a full-blown Parisian. “My impetus is that I want to give something back to Paris, I don’t want to take,” she said. “I love this place, I love the culture. I want to contribute, and contribute to the gallery scene here.”
Formidable!