⚠️ The date displayed at the top of this event comes from the official source. The original description mentions other dates that may be outdated.
From May 23 to June 20, the gallery is celebrating more than thirty years of commitment to contemporary creation. Yet this is not about looking back on an accomplished journey, but about affirming a living continuity. 30 Years and More is not a retrospective. It is a statement of intent, that of a gallery cultivating its reason for being: supporting artists and highlighting current artistic practices.
Through one work by each artist, the exhibition brings together those who today embody the gallery’s history and identity. 30 Years and More reflects a long-standing dialogue between the gallery and the artists, emerging or established, whom it supports. This faithful dialogue, nourished by experimentation and risk-taking, reflects its constant commitment to contemporary art in all its forms, and especially to the French scene, which it helps promote across the country and abroad. This exhibition affirms a permanence measured not only in years, but in encounters, projects, and artistic affinities. It is also a projection toward what remains to be invented. Here, thirty years is not a symbolic threshold, but a momentum: that of a gallery always in motion, attentive to its time and resolutely turned toward the future. EDITORIAL BY STEPHANE MAGNAN Founder of the gallery Les filles du calvaire 30 years of exhibitions, and every medium is involved. Perhaps, to understand the gallery in all this diversity, I should say where I come from: my childhood and adolescent tastes are still the same today. What moves me is the scopic drive and the auditory drive: image and music, harmony and dissonance. What fascinates me is intelligence and reasoning. My first loves were Greek, mythology, Italian painting and Flemish painting of the Renaissance, Mozart, Schubert, Verdi, and mathematics. Great curiosity and a tremendous appetite. My way of acting always begins with listening and exploration, welcoming ideas and images, and then, at a certain point, that’s it, I understand, I can decide. Perhaps that, together with the great loyalty of the team that accompanies me, is what gives the gallery an impression of coherence, something that can only be seen with hindsight. I had the same way of working in my profession as an engineer: festina lente. What the gallery shows is therefore far from fixed; it bears witness to its political commitment in a world that is changing quickly and where democracy is constantly under attack. It is a very demanding profession that can be described in several ways: the role of discoverer, of “associated passer-on,” and that of dealer. They are always present, not always easy to combine, but very exciting. It seems to me that the inaugural thunderclap for today’s contemporary art was the prize awarded to Rauschenberg at the biennale de Venise in 1974: that is what gave rise to the abundance of creation we see today; everything was possible! His gallerist, Leo Castelli, invented at that time the model of the contemporary art gallery that still prevails today. The first fair took place in Cologne in 1967, quickly followed by Bâle in 1970. And we are still there. What has changed is the proliferation of artists, galleries, fairs, biennials, and initiatives for showing work of every kind, for better and for worse. That is what makes the work we do extremely complex in terms of discernment, in order to remain faithful to our values and not be overwhelmed by a multifaceted, appropriating capitalism. More recently, the internet and its avatars have given additional momentum to the idea that “anything goes”; the online network is a remarkable tool, but it shows only “ghosts” of works, and therefore absolutely needs the gallery in order to see them “in real life.” The artist’s necessity is to show and to be shown; otherwise there is no existence in the contemporary world. The gallerist is therefore the one who takes the risk, after the artist who takes the risk of creation, of showing works that are sure values only to him, with no certainty of selling them, unlike what museums or institutions exhibit: artists who are already widely recognized. He is a modest actor in contemporary art, which far exceeds him, but whose field is in no danger of drying up. 30 years, then, as proof of hope and tenacity for this gallery, born from the unlikely encounter of a group of friends with a remarkable place. Fino a quando? The wager remains. HISTORY OF THE GALLERY text written by Marie Magnier, director of the gallery Founded in Paris in 1996 at 17 rue des Filles-du-Calvaire, the gallery Les filles du calvaire established itself from the moment it opened as an influential actor on the contemporary art scene. Very early on, it stood out by supporting photographers, at a time when this medium did not yet occupy the central place it holds today in the art market and in institutions. The gallery played a major role in the recognition of contemporary photography, in these demanding and singular practices. True to its role as a discoverer, the gallery gives an essential place to emerging artists. Today more than ever, it affirms its support for contemporary artists, with particular attention paid to the French scene, which it helps promote nationally and internationally. To strengthen this dynamic, from the outset the gallery has opened its programming to outside figures to curate exhibitions: art critics, artists, curators. Figuration now holds a major place in the gallery’s programming. Whether through photography, painting, sculpture, or drawing, the gallery favors embodied works, exploring bodies, landscapes, and intimate or collective narratives, while leaving ample room for interpretation and subjectivity. This artistic coherence, built over the years, makes the gallery a recognized space for the quality of its commitments and the singularity of its perspective. Figuration here is never illustrative: it is a tool for narration, a space for projection, a way of thinking about the world. Since its beginnings, Les filles du calvaire has shown and supported the work of many women artists. This choice, instinctive and committed, has naturally formed part of the gallery’s artistic line, independently of the trends or injunctions of the moment. After an experience in Bruxelles from 2000 to 2010, the gallery opened a second space in 2023 at 21 rue Chapon, allowing it to expand its programming. A gallery faithful, from the beginning, to what founded it: defending artists, confronting reality, and supporting the living forms of contemporary creation. OPENING SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2026 The artists presented will be: Laia Abril, Helena Almeida, Bianca Argimón, Art Orienté Objet, Abdelhak Benallou, Katrien De Blauwer, Paz Corona, Jérémie Cosimi, Thibaut Cuisset, Gilbert Fastenaekens, Léo Fourdrinier, Charles Fréger, Makiko Fuirichi, Frances Goodman, Julia Haumont, Todd Hido, James Hyde, Michel Jocaille, Karen Knorr, Juul Kraijer, Katinka Lampe, Diana Markosian, Kate McCgwire, Olivier Mosset, Ethan Murrow, Nelli Palomäki, Clara Rivault, Karine Rougier, Kourtney Roy, Emmanuel Saulnier, Yusuf Sevinçli, Lore Stessel, Christer Strömholm, Maya Inès Touam, Qi Zhuo….
Source: paris.fr — photo: View of Bianca Argimón’s solo exhibition, Fake it until you lose it, 2025, Les filles du calvaire, Paris