Eléonore Levai Belaga - Executive Director - CHAPELLE XIV
Exhibition view - Yoann Esteveni at Chapelle XIV. Photography : © Grégory Copitet.
Your Profile
I was born in Germany, grew up in Alsace, and did part of my studies in England. With a Hungarian father and a French mother, I feel profoundly European! After a career split between the legal-tax fields and the art market, I worked in the art department of a private bank as well as in art and gallery logistics. Then, at the end of 2020, my husband and I opened Chapelle XIV in Paris.
I have always been deeply passionate about creation in the broadest sense of the word, from the visual arts to fashion; from design to perfumery. Curiosity is my main driving force. I deeply admire artists and artisans, and am always so excited when I discover new artwork!
Your Project and the Targeted Audience
Chapelle XIV is a place of the arts (in plural), without a hierarchy of practices, where visitors are welcomed in a warm space.
In this space, there is a Yoyaku vinyl record store, which focuses on electronic music, a gallery specialising in contemporary art and design, and a café that turns into a bar for evening events. Together with the entire team, we enjoy offering an eclectic programme (from marimba concerts to erotic illustration markets and queer live nude drawing evenings).
We are dedicated to promoting diverse works and supporting their creators by making art accessible. This involves both display scenography and purchase, which I want to de-dramatise. Our goal is to engage customers who are not (or not yet) collectors. This approach applies to both our vinyl records as well as to art objects, which ultimately provide comparable emotions.
Left: Eléonore Levai Belaga. Photography : © François Halard. Right: Exhibition view - Yoann Esteveni at Chapelle XIV. Photography : © Grégory Copitet.
The Future
Alongside my talented partner Joséphine Dupuy Chavanat, we would like to develop our art acquisition consulting division, Chapelle Projects.
More generally speaking, my aim is to continue doing what I love, which allows me to meet fascinating people on a daily basis. Chapelle XIV is an adventure filled with successes, challenges, a great team, and wonderful collaborations. I hope it stays this way!
Lucie Charasson - Founder of Villa Gabrielle
Left : Lucie Charasson. Right : Lou Motin, La Dame de la Fosse. Photographies : © Galerie Villa Gabrielle.
Your Profile
Before launching the Villa Gabrielle gallery, my background in art history led me to collaborate with institutions such as the Villa Medici in Rome, the Centre Pompidou, the MET in New York, and Christie's. Recently, my involvement in sourcing and curating spaces for luxury residences has allowed me to work on high-end interior design projects, refining my taste for scenography and design.
© Galerie Villa Gabrielle.
Your Project and the Targeted Audience
In September 2023, I founded Villa Gabrielle, a Parisian contemporary art gallery housed in a flat and online, with off-site events. I also provide tailor-made artistic commissions, acquisition consulting, and a curation and sourcing service for art pieces. My goal is to offer artworks tailored to clients' styles, interiors, and budgets to support them in enriching or starting their collections that reflect their own personality. Villa Gabrielle emerged from my desire to showcase works of international artists, from both emerging talents to established names with deep-rooted cultural heritage. The gallery's artistic direction is shaped by themes of ancient memory and reinterpretation of art history, which offers timeless collections that merge archaeological inspirations and contemporary writing.
View of the veranda with two white plaster sculptures by Marina Mankarios and a photograph on marble by Dune Varela. © Galerie Villa Gabrielle.
The bedroom: © Galerie Villa Gabrielle.
The Future
My ambition? To embark my collections on a journey to archaeological museums, unconventional sites linked to the history of art - such as the Villa Medici or the Acropolis - or exhibition venues that merge art and style. The upcoming collection will take place beyond traditional spaces, in a location that remains undisclosed for now.
Lucie Bouclet and Paul Menoux - Foudners of the Galerie Magdeleine
Lucie Bouclet and Paul Menoux.
Your Profiles
Paul and I met during our studies at the Ecole du Louvre, in Paris. We have always been drawn to various facets of arts and culture, which means we don't spend much time at home!
I regularly attend Parisian theatres and participate in philosophy and archaeology conferences. Paul collects antique oriental jewellery, explores church architecture, and is currently working on Hortense Haudebourt-Lescot, a nineteenth-century artist. And of course, we visit auction houses, galleries, flea markets, fairs, etc., as often as we can.
The beauty of painting lies in its ability to bridge all these disciplines that we love because it is imbued with all the artistic, literary and historical developments of its time.
Left : Henri Frédéric Schopin, Manon Lescaut et D’Esgrieux dans le désert. Salon des Artistes Vivants, Paris, 1844. Right : Tony Robert-Fleury, Ophélie. Salon des Artistes Vivants, Paris, 1887.
Your Project and the Targeted Audience
In our art gallery located in the VIIth arrondissement of Paris, we showcase drawings and paintings dating from 1750 to 1850 that captivate us with their historical and artistic significance.
Paul and I have always enjoyed following auctions, discussing the works on sale, and tracking the outcomes of celebrated masterpieces featured in specialised newspapers. Our partnership began when we ended up selling our first painting together.
We are targeting an amateur audience who would like to associate the decorative aspect with that of history. Each old painting has a unique story to tell. We would like to show a younger audience the richness of our favourite period, a true laboratory for all the innovations of modernity, as well as the beauty of such human, emotional and vibrant painting.
The Future
Our biggest dream for the future would be to appeal to a new type of collector. It does not take great erudition to appreciate the works we present, on the contrary, it sometimes happens that the aesthetic appreciation of a work is overshadowed by all the discourse that surrounds it.
We would like to find a gallery with a storefront and participate in prestigious fairs, aiming to establish ourselves in a "traditional way". We also would like to find innovative approaches to exist as an ancient art gallery, establish collaborations, host events abroad, and make our gallery accessible so as not to make it an intimidating place where the public does not dare to walk in.
Valeria Diaz Granada - Founder of La Boulangerie!
© La Boulangerie.
Your Profile
Born in Colombia, I attended the French High School in Bogota. With my baccalaureate in hand and a love for Paris, I moved to France for my studies, got a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the Sorbonne, and also attended a business school. My circle of friends included artists, writers, filmmakers, etc. I started organising artistic projects with them (exhibitions, films, books, etc.). Naturally, I began collaborating with my artist friends. A private collection in Japan reached out to me, and I moved to Tokyo, where I managed a modern art collection for three years. Then Covid hit. I returned to Paris, facing an uncertain future. How could I work with contemporary artists without owning a gallery? I then founded Rossogranada Art Angels, an artistic catalyst supporting artists and projects.
Costanza Caldeloro, A Bitter Tears Phone Call, 2019. © La Boulangerie.
Your Project and the Targeted Audience
In January 2022, I opened La Boulangerie!, an independent space for exhibitions and residencies. Nestled in a listed 19th-century bakery in the heart of Paris' 9th arrondissement, this experimental venue provides a dynamic platform for contemporary artists. We are dedicated to fostering creativity and exchange through our residency programmes, offering artists the time, space, and resources to develop their work. Supported by @rossogranada, La Boulangerie! challenges conventional boundaries and presents thought-provoking and dialogue-inspiring exhibitions in intimate, unpretentious, and familiar settings.
© La Boulangerie.
The Future
The future is exciting! We are preparing 'The Bakery! OFF-SITE', a new initiative to support contemporary art in unexpected places, collaborating with several bakeries worldwide. We also have a beautiful programme of exhibitions and residencies planned to start in September 2024, very surreal! Stay tuned!
Henri Robert - Editor in Chief Happening Media
Kseniia Klimova - Project Manager of Salty Initiatives
