Ahfter establishing a strong online presence, art-enthusiasts and founders, Camille Cohen and Michaël Le Goff brought their art gallery to the heart of the Parisian district of Montmartre.
In an exclusive chat, Camille and Michaël introduced the unique vision and business model of their contemporary art platform and discussed managing projects in such turbulent times.
AM: Camille & Michael, please tell us more about you and the idea behind Cohle Gallery
Our background is pretty atypical considering what we do now. In fact, Camille was a financial controller for a luxury brand and Michael, Chief legal officer for a luxury concierge service. But some years ago we decided to leave our jobs and focus on what we really like and what we really wanted to do, so the idea of Cohle Gallery was born.
Our main idea when we decided to create the gallery was to promote urban and contemporary artwork but also artists who we really appreciate. That is why we support several emerging artists all over the world; American, Spanish, Russian, French and internationally renowned artists through digital tools giving the possibility to anyone, regardless of his/her location, to discover our exhibitions and artists.
AM: You first launched an online platform before opening the gallery. Why is having a physical venue so important in a digital age?
Digital is still our main activity but it was crucial to open a physical gallery to have the option to meet our collectors from inside and out of Paris and to be renowned as a gallery. However, our way of work did not change as digital remains really important to us, yet the physical gallery allows us to have more exhibitions, to get more content, to approach different kind of artists and new collectors, and to have a kind of legitimacy. So, both activities are not only connected but complementary. The difference with other galleries is that since the very beginning we knew that online will be strategic in the next years.
AM: How much does your gallery fit in the vibe and history of the Pigalle district?
Pigalle and more generally the Montmartre district is one of the most famous art districts in Paris where artists like Raoul Dufy, Modigliani, Van Gogh and Picasso lived and worked some decades ago. Nowadays, the spirit of this particular district remains the same and since a couple of years this district is reinventing itself. It is more alive than ever with the creation and development of many boutique hotels, restaurants, luxury sport clubs and even the Soho House, which should open near our gallery next year. All this is why we decided to open our brand-new physical gallery there, as we think the district fits us perfectly
AM: What is the thing you like the most about contemporary art?
To discover and to be surprised! We like contemporary art and what we do everyday because there are so many kinds of expression in this particular movement. It is quite impossible to have seen everything. You can find sculptures, abstract art, faux naïf, figurative works…there are no limits to the creation, no diktat.
Social networks are also a great tool that we use carefully as it permits us to discover artists all over the world.
AM: What is a common trait between all the artists you host in your gallery?
The main characteristics that you can easily see when you discover our line-up are bright colors and figurative, even if we do have one abstract contemporary artist. Color is essential in our life as it is essential in our gallery, from pastel to vivid colors. In the figurative expression, we represent artists like Adam Handler (USA), Ador (France), Poes (France), Belin (Spain) or more recently Peter Opheim (USA).
AM: You were set to have a new exhibition before the lockdown announcement, how do you plan on dealing with the current situation?
This situation was not really expected even if we had a feeling about this lockdown. However, we used the digital world, sales and communication as we did ever since the creation of the gallery.
The exhibition Artéfacts of the French duo “MonkeyBird” opened as expected on Thursday November 12th and our idea will be to merge people in their poetic and metaphoric world through different mediums and tools like Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok with live pictures, stories or short videos with the interaction of the Monkeybird. Hence even if this exhibition won’t be physically viewable, we want to create as much interaction as possible so people can ask questions and discover closely any artwork and its secret details.
AM: And what advice would you give to artists who are facing tremendous financial difficulties this year?
This unexpected situation is horrible for everyone on this planet and more particularly to the culture world which has to reinvent itself. So that is why we work closely with artists to promote their work all over the world through our platforms.
If we have to give an advice (even if it might seem a bit pretentious): “work, work, work as usual, experiment, create and try to reveal the best of this unusual period to reveal yourself to everyone”.
For the gallery's latest agenda, visit cohlegallery.com