Memories of my Paris exhibition at Galerie Elysee Miromesnil came flooding back. I was watching the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi being honoured at the Bastille Day celebrations this year on television.
That was 23 years ago and yet it felt like yesterday. As I reminisced about the exhibition, another memory came up – the gift of one free pizza in Paris!
This exhibition is very special for me in more ways than one. It was a learning experience about the challenges of getting a gallery to exhibit your artworks or to find patrons.
But where there is a will and faith in one’s art, doors do open. For me the door was Galerie Elysee Miromesnil.
Back in 1995, my late husband had been posted to Minsk in Belarus to open India’s first Embassy. He was the first Indian Ambassador to Belarus.
I expressed the desire to visit Paris and especially Giverny as I am an ardent fan of Monet.
After some discussion, my husband suggested I also visit some galleries and explore if I could get an exhibition of my works done. My trip to Paris was booked.
Finding a gallery to exhibit my art was far easier than said
Armed with my portfolio, I visited numerous galleries but was crestfallen when told they only exhibited famous artists or had their own artists.
At that time, I didn’t know that this is normal for galleries all over the world, including India.
Perhaps these galleries are averse to risk taking or maybe they want to make sure they get big commissions on sales. I agree that there are business considerations, but talent should also be promoted.
I had started my artist career just 6 years earlier and needed encouragement, not discouragement!
But Lady Luck favoured me when I visited rue de Miromesnil and entered Galerie Elysee Miromesnil.
The gallery owner was very kind and had a look at my portfolio.
I was offered dates which I immediately booked. The rest of my visit was spent touring museums and visited Giverny, my Mecca. I treated myself to seeing places there that I had only seen in paintings.
My exhibition took place in October 1995. The gallery owner told me that I didn’t have to sit in the gallery the whole day.
As he rightly pointed out, I was in Paris, and I should enjoy the city to the full.
The story of the free pizza.
I decided to walk around and see the sights. At lunchtime, I felt hungry and walked into a small and quaint restaurant and ordered a pizza.
After a while, I noticed that customers who had arrived after me were being served but my pizza was nowhere in sight!
I waited a little longer and then walked up to the manager and inquired about the pizza. The waiter was horrified that he had forgotten my order.
Apparently, it is quite common for people to go and sit in a restaurant without ordering anything. Perhaps he thought I was waiting for someone or just whiling away time.
In any case, a piping fresh pizza was served shortly thereafter. The restaurant refused to take payment for it. They wanted to make up for their error.
So, I got to eat a free pizza in a posh locality of Paris!
When my exhibition ended, the gallery owner gifted me a box of chocolates.
He was pleased with the way the exhibition had gone and I even received a positive review in the local papers.
The art critic had found my works interesting and noted the vibrant colours that I used with palette knives as well as my signature style.
Any artist who receives a sincere compliment is motivated to further develop their skills.
I left Paris with a sense of achievement.
Artwork from the Paris Exhibition
What I discovered about Galerie Elysee Miromesnil
Years later, I found out that the gallery owner had retired and moved to the south of France. I felt sad that I couldn’t tell him about how far I had come in my artistic journey.
But I discovered something else which has made that exhibition even more precious.
This gallery had exhibitions by many leading artists and movement creators!
There was Ernst Fuchs, an Austrian painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, architect, stage designer, composer, poet, and one of the founders of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism.
Fitzia, who was one of the most brilliant masters of collage, Gilles Marie Dupuy and France Zieseniss, the wife of the famous art historian Charles-Otto Zieseniss.
Each of these artists was famous in their field and I realized, this gallery was owned by a true connoisseur of art and talent.
He had seen a spark in me and gave me that opportunity of a lifetime without letting me know he showed stalwarts in the art field.
That encouragement helped me build a career and for that I am grateful. And for the free pizza in Paris!
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