© Morgan Roppers
Laurence Choko was born in Fort de France, Martinique. She spent her childhood and adolescence in Le Havre, and subsequently moved to Paris to study art. She returned to Martinique in her twenties, and discovered the art of the Caribbean at that time. In particular, she credits “the spontaneity of the artistic universe of Haïti” for helping her to understand Western art better. As a result, she began to collect art and decided to represent artists who had little visibility in Europe. In fact, her decision to represent these artists stemmed directly from the fact that they were not known in Europe.
A second voyage to France ensued, this time with a husband and two young girls in tow. Laurence completed her Master’s degrees in art and letters that she had begun during her first move to Paris, and set up her gallery in 1982. Originally located at 22, rue Saint-Martin, Paris 4e (where she and her husband continue to operate a gallery specializing in vintage cinema documents and posters, she moved the Galerie Intemporel to its current location on rue Quincampoix near the Centre Pompidou in 1998. She favors this location because it facilitates contact with an international clientele. She has always been an independent art dealer, though she has collaborated with other Paris galleries in the “second hand” market for modern and contemporary art.
Laurence selects artists based on the “contemporary aesthetic and humanist values” that their art portrays, regardless of the medium used. Visitors to her gallery will therefore see paintings, sculpture, and photographs at any given time. Laurence selects the artists instinctively; with each new selection, she builds upon the great puzzle of African Diaspora art that she is slowly and steadily constructing.
Laurence’s first memory of an artistic work that impressed her was an “installation” – an array of tools and materials that her father used for working wrought iron, making ceramics, and repairing automobiles and other things. He arranged these items in a particular order, and Laurence felt that the objects he created were “sacred” because of the aesthetic and atmosphere of his workshop. After she discovered the installations created by French-born American artist Arman, she realized that the first “installationist” that she had known was her father.
Several of the artists whose works Laurence shows at Galerie Intemporel are Cuban. When I asked what she finds so attractive about the work of people from this country, she explained that Cuban plastic arts derive from an academic, multicultural tradition that dates from the 19th century, when the Academy San Alejandro was overseen by Jean-Baptiste Vermey – a student of Jacques-Louis David. Many Cuban artists now take instruction at the Instituto Superior de Arte (Havana) in the same tradition. This formal training makes their work exceptional in the international art world.
Laurence went on to say that the French public tends to view Caribbean, African, and African-American artists as producing art solely as a means of self-amusement (naïve art), and that the works produced by these artists are unfairly viewed with this bias. Her goal in promoting the works of Cuban artists who are formally trained is to show the art-viewing public the universality of art and culture. Two African-American artists whose works she displays and whose works she says escape any classification as naïve are Barbara Chase-Riboud, sculptor, and Frank Stewart, photographer.
Galerie Intemporel is currently featuring the paintings and sculptures of Cuban artist Arturo Montoto in an exposition entitled Acqua. Laurence finds his work to be poetic, and says that his still lifes of tropical fruit are an allegory for humans. In certain aquarelles such as La Ciudad que se goza (The city that rejoices) and La Ciudad que se canza (The city that gets tired), she sees dynamic urban activity accentuated with sensuality and humor. She also sees the influence of past artistic eras in his work, saying that that his powerful technique evokes the golden age of Spain and the still lifes of Flemish masters.
Arturo Montato
Aquarelle on paper (2006)
Image courtesy of Galerie Intemporel
Arturo Montato
Aquarelle on paper (2006)
Image courtesy of Galerie Intemporel
Laurence has been a participant in the American art scene for the past ten years, including the National Black Fine Arts Show in Manhattan and the Black Arts Festival in Atlanta. She has also targeted shows such as Art Basel Miami, arteaméricas, and SCOPE Miami, which attract a Latin American crowd. Art Basel Miami is slowly increasing the number of galleries that present African Diaspora art, and she is pleased to contribute to this trend.
For Art Basel Miami 2010, Laurence created an exposition called Ten is One that featured the works of ten of her artists. Though these artists work in different media, they commonly express the contemporary African aesthetic that Laurence so admires. In addition, each artist that she selected for this exposition already had some international acclaim prior to this show. Montoto, Chase-Riboud, Stewart, and Beauford Delaney were among those whose works she selected for this special exhibit.
Photo courtesy of Galerie Intemporel
Exposition Ten is One, Art Basel Miami Festival 2010
Photo courtesy of Galerie Intemporel
Laurence had the pleasure of participating in the First Annual Art Basel Panel Discussion on "Contemporary African Diaspora Fine Art" at the University of Miami during the Art Basel Miami Festival last December. She thought that the public expected her to paint a rosy picture of the status of African Diaspora art in Paris and state that Diaspora artists are widely represented here, but she told them that this was unfortunately not the case.
When asked what importance she believes art holds for the general public, Laurence replied that in France, art belongs to the elite and that currently only they claim it, understand it, approach it, and survey it. She believes museums are the only places where an uninitiated public can be made aware of art without the fear of being misinformed, mislead, or even taken advantage of by certain unscrupulous galleries. When asked what one thing she would do to increase the awareness and appreciation of African Diaspora art, she responded that she would arrange for French museums to program expositions of this art into their calendars.
Galerie Intemporel
37, rue Quincampoix
75004 Paris
Telephone: 01.44.59.63.29
Metro: Châtelet
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 2 PM to 7 PM, or by appointment
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Entrée to Black Paris!™ is a Discover Paris! blog.
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