Galerie Barrou Planquart

Virginie Barrou Planquart, the gallery’s founder, has always been deeply attracted to art. The creation of a contemporary art gallery became an obvious choice in October 2010. Specializing in urban and neo-pop art, the gallery is developing an optimistic line where smiles and astonishment are central values. Freshness, creativity, awareness and commitment are the words that come to mind when browsing the collection, which brings together French and foreign artists, emerging and established.

The gallery’s neo-pop artists use popular imagery, reinterpretations of existing works and the use of icons in brightly colored, humorous works that gently guide the viewer to discreetly more invested levels of reading. Fully immersed in the contemporary world and pop culture, they describe society through subtle, deftly descriptive and deeply realistic works.

The gallery also champions urban art through muralists who have graffitied, collaged and blazed walls around the world. They use street art to convey a positive and powerful message, using beauty, humor and surprise. They are fully part of this energetic movement, correlated with music, fashion, street culture and mass culture.

Many of the gallery’s artists are deeply inspired by the material. They sculpt monochrome bas-reliefs, compose works in real feathers, work with wire mesh, synthetic crystal, oil, watercolor, porcelain stoneware, paper, iron, plaster, resin and photography. They enthuse with their level of expertise and incredible techniques, resulting in profound and breathtaking works.

Emotion, associated with the principle of reality, is a pleasant prerequisite for reflection, which we happily use to promote discovery. Our aim is to foster appreciation and understanding of contemporary art by facilitating interaction between the public and the works. Throughout the year, we meet with foreign collectors at international art fairs, and at the same time offer a program of group and solo exhibitions at the gallery. The works are exhibited over longer periods of time, allowing them to radiate out into the heart of the collection. The frenzy of the fairs combined with the quieter time of the exhibitions strengthens the deep bond between artists and collectors and reflects the spirit of the gallery’s artistic selection, between depth and enthusiasm.

Virginie Barrou Planquart