We’re not serious when we’re twenty, that’s the title of the exhibition that Julia Gragnon presents in her gallery to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
She wrote this very pretty text on this occasion!
At the end of October 2004, an adventure began for me, the outcome of which was then completely unknown to me… After finding the name of the Gallery in a dream, I had to begin my first exhibition with my personal collection. The work having fallen behind schedule, I found myself with an empty month ahead, and decided to take the opportunity to visit the archives of my father, François Gragnon, photographer at Paris Match. Discreet about his professional life, I only knew him from my mother’s photos of a dancer, his portrait of General de Gaulle and the reverence of Marlène Dietrich. The Match photo department and archives were generous enough to welcome me and let me rummage through the negatives, contact sheets, and other transparencies. It quickly seemed to me that my father’s images were more than sympathetic and that it was necessary to start the life of the Gallery with him. And what pride it was to open the Gallery with him beside me, to share with the first customers the emotions aroused by his images. How could I imagine, by opening this space, I would witness the tears of visitors, moved by these past memories? Then while working in the laboratory, which was already a great pleasure, I crossed paths with Christophe d’Yvoire, whose sublime trees/sculptures followed my father’s photos. Inaugurating a number of unthinkable encounters thanks to my printer’s friends,, shadow workers, without whom we are nothing, and who through their sensitivity and kindness have encouraged me so much and opened my mind! We must of course thank the photographers. I immediately think of my friend Lucien Clergue, the first great artist to reach out to me by entrusting me with his prints, his faith in me at the time was decisive. I also think of Paolo Pellegrin, whom I met during my first visit to the Visa pour l’Image festival in Perpignan, in 2008, and who almost immediately, in the middle of the street, agreed to participate in my exhibition on photojournalism, of which I was unfamiliar. Thanks to him I met so many artists: Graciela Iturbide, René Groebli, Ferdinando Scianna and Stanley Greene whose gentleness was matched only by the power of his images. I was also able to make certain dreams come true. Exhibiting in the United States, traveling, discovering fantastic archive funds… I am thinking in particular of Giancarlo Botti whose nude portrait of Romy Schneider has followed me since I was 15 and which allowed me to transform a torn newspaper page into a sublime print thanks to the numerous meetings made that year 2007 in his agency Gamma Rapho. I also think of Sophie Le Tellier, the daughter of Philippe Le Tellier. She arrived one day with her Romy Schneider slides and has followed me ever since; to Laurence, the wife of Georges Pierre who, after just one lunch in Arles, entrusted me with the key to the incredible archives of her husband, an almost crazy and wonderful confidence! I think of climbing the five floors on foot to reach Raymond Cauchetier’s house where his wife Kaoru was waiting for me at the door with a bottle of water, an unforgettable memory. There are sometimes nights of anxiety, when I am late, when the prints are stuck at customs the day before the opening, when a photographer or an artist is upset, or the day before a show. All these trying moments are nothing, compared to the friendship and the so many encounters. I think back to the laughs with Filippo Roversi, in his laboratory in the 14th arrondissement, of the delicious visits from his father, always curious, and to our arguments when he doubted my abilities as a printer! How could I imagine 20 years ago that I would have the joy of meeting Ellen Von Unwerth whose portraits of women have always been an inspiration, or Bert Stern and the family of Sam Shaw who are for the absolute Marilyn fan that I am, an absolute fantasy! Or my beloved Bruce Weber, one of my favorite photographers who was kind enough to offer me his friendship. He is one of the most elegant people I have ever met. Just like Dominique Tarlé, who has become a member of my family. The bottomless pit of our adventures is unimaginable, between the fans, the Stones and everything we have shared. I remember jumping on him in the street, and him admitting to me that he hated “those asshole gallery owners”, and during his first visit to rue de Poitou, that he loved my “mess”, unthinkable and brilliant. ! I still think about the books we edited. To my mistakes, to the wise advice of those close to me, to the joy of the selection, to teamwork, especially with my accomplices, the Poisson Rouge girls, who put up with me and have supported me so much for so long. To Fred who creates our beautiful posters, so loved by the public. I see the ephemeral galleries, the trips, Noirmoutier, St Jean de Luz, Bordeaux, Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Nice… The laughter in exhausted trucks in the rain, or the perilous collisions at 7 a.m.! At the legendary Saturday lunches with the gang of Gallery coaches, of this crazy neighborhood, and the opening evenings where the table of “little ones from the Gallery” became bigger than that of the artists. Fortunately, I still have a few dreams to realize, but already, I would never have dared imagine everything I have experienced thanks to photography, the sincere love of images, and this passion that we share, TOGETHER.
Julia Gragnon
On n‘est pas sérieux quand on a vingt ans
From November 5, 2024 to January 12, 2025
Galerie de l’Instant
46, rue de Poitou
75003 Paris
www.lagaleriedelinstant.com
