Parisian gallerist and art collector Agnès Monplaisir, director of Galerie Agnès Monplaisir, opened her first gallery in 1987, aged 18, in a small 86-square-foot space in the Bastille district in Paris. Nearly four decades later, Monplaisir is now one of the world’s most respected and revered art dealers, presiding over an appropriately expansive 1,600-square-foot gallery in Paris’s St.-Germain-des-Prés.Monplaisir is known for championing the work of artists from all over the world but she has a particular passion for art from Latin America which is reflected in her gallery’s diverse program of exhibitions and art fair presentations as well as its impressive stable of artists, which includes the likes of Olga de Amaral, Marcos Coelho Benjamim, and Manuela Zervudachi.As she was preparing her presentation for Art Rio 2015, featuring works by Olga de Amaral and Todd & Fitch (see slideshow), BLOUIN ARTINFO got in touch with Monplaisir and asked her a few questions about her life as a gallerist and art dealer.Name: Agnès MonplaisirHails From: ParisDirector of: Galerie Agnès MonplaisirGallery’s Specialty: Contemporary artArtists Represented: OLGA DE AMARAL, MARCOS COELHO BENJAMIM, IGOR MITORAJ, TODD & FITCH, CABRAL, JIM AMARAL, NÁDIA TAQUARY, E. GRANDCHAMP DES RAUX, IURI SARMENTO, DANIEL HOURDÉ, MANUELA ZERVUDACHI, DO KÖNIG VASSILAKIS, GIROLAMO CIULLA, STEPHEN SUMNER, HERMANN ALBERTWhat exciting shows do you have planned for the remainder of 2015, from August onwards?During Art Rio 2015, which will be held Sept. 9th-13th, Galerie Agnès Monplaisir will be featuring two internationally recognized artists, both having in common a taste for textures and light. The French duo Todd & Fitch, already recognized by top-notch collectors comes to South American for the first time with their most recent production. The Colombian artist, Olga de Amaral, will return to Brazil with her 2015 work, showed for the very first time. The gallery itself in Paris will also be hosting a solo exhibition of Cabral Sept.-Oct. and Manuela Zervudachi Oct.-Nov.Describe the vision of the gallery and how the program is developed?I have built the gallery based on my own eye for engaging contemporary art, placing a great value on art that expresses a unique sense of place and culture. My mission has been to marry the experience of the art and the identity of the artist. Each artist I represent brings his or her own individual cultural voice and perspective.What have been some of the most significant achievements and landmark moments of the gallery?Our experience at Art Rio 2014 made a big impression, with our artists receiving an enthusiastic reception and tremendous traffic. We also received a tremendously receptive audience during our Gold! exhibition earlier this year. We have been so pleased this past year to see our artists reaching so many different audiences.How has the art market changed since you entered the business?The market has definitely expanded to include a more global community of collectors. We are seeing a greater reception for different types of art and artists. Rather than being regionally divided, we are seeing collectors from China and the Middle East interested in artists like Olga de Amaral, whose work is rooted in the cultural identity of her home in Bogotá, Colombia.What was the last piece of art that thoroughly impressed you and why?All of Olga de Amaral’s work visually transports you. The works by Olga de Amaral brought together at Art Rio exemplify the extraordinary combinations of texture, color and volume which characterize the artist’s textile sculptures. Her three-dimensional compositions exhibit a total integration of structure and surface achieved through a long and delicate process based on traditional weaving techniques.What has been your most memorable moment as a gallerist?My most memorable moments have been discovering some of my artists that I represent now. It has been a journey, an adventure, an experience of passion, to bring my talented and extraordinary artists to collectors and to hear how moved these collectors are by actually owning these pieces and having them in their lives.If you weren’t a gallerist, you’d probably be ….I would likely be a filmmaker.Art is….Art is my passion. It is an inspiration, a representation of humanity, an irreplaceable expression of culture, history, and creativity.
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