Eric Gauthier, Paris - MEET THE COLLECTOR Series Part Forty Five
I had heard of Eric and what he was doing before I met him and had also seen one of his artist films. Eric Gauthier makes up part forty-five of my ‘Meet the Collector’ series and alongside being a collector he runs Galerie du Moineau Ecarlate in Paris. Read on to hear more about his background and how he chooses his favourite artwork.
Eric Gauthier installing at his gallery: Galerie du Moineau Ecarlate
1. When did your interest in the field of outsider/folk art begin?
My interest in the field of outsider art began around the year 2000, when I purchased a drawing by the French artist Benjamin Bonjour.
2. When did you become a collector of this art? How many pieces do you think are in your collection now? And do you exhibit any of it on the walls of your home or elsewhere?
Since this first purchase, I never stopped looking for art brut pieces. It never occurred to me to count them. Before I had my own gallery, they were at home and on the walls. But even now I live with it all around me.
3. Can you tell us a bit about your background?
I worked for a long time in the field of performing arts, which allowed me to travel. During these tours, I always tried to meet local outsider artists. In 2017 I set up Galerie du Moineau Ecarlate to uncover the works of artists I have been passionately collecting for years. Dedicated more specifically to raw art, it brings together spontaneous creations, out of norms, uneducated voices and fruits of visionary destinies.
ESG, 102, 2019
4. What is it that draws your eye away from contemporary art to outsider/folk art? Or do you collect both?
I stay focused on the art brut world, but I am very interested by art in general. I have already purchased contemporary art for my personal collection.
5. What style of work, if any, is of particular interest to you within this field? (for example is it embroidery, drawing, sculpture, and so on)
All! For me the medium does not determinate my interest. I am drawn by the artists’ creativity.
6. Would you say you had a favourite artist or piece of work within your collection? And why?
For some reasons the last piece I discover always becomes my favourite. It feels like a miracle happening again in the very moment of discovery. It’s the case with the landscapes of E.S.G an anonymous artist, done on cigarillos paper.
7. Where would you say you buy most of your work from: a studio, art fairs, exhibitions, auctions, or direct from artists?
Essentially from the artists when I can, or in auctions.
Artist Maurice with one of his artworks in my Gallery
8. Is there an exhibition in this field of art that you have felt has been particularly important? And why?
I appreciate the exhibits of The Museum of Everything and the ABCD art brut collection for their quality, their capacity to broaden their collections, and to question the field of art. I would also love to see the collection of Treger Saint Silvestre.
9. Are there any people within this field that you feel have been particularly important to pave the way for where the field is at now?
I can’t think of one person, but I appreciate the variety of the collectors nowadays, that make this field very dynamic.
10. A conflicted term at present, but can you tell us about your opinion of the term outsider art, how you feel about it and if there are any other words that you think we should be using instead?
"Outsider art" was proposed at the beginning as a translation of art brut, but shortly became art brut + (art singulier, hors les normes, folk art, raw art, neuve invention, création franche... and so on.) I could use the word outsider art, but it is like a black hole idea, without theoretical definition. So I choose to focus on art brut. It is a nice word art brut and I think gives an efficient concept to thinking about this art.