Agathe Gaillard's Memoir Chronicles Three Decades of Photography Gallery

Agathe Gaillard, who closed her gallery, has published 'Mémoires d'une galerie' with Gallimard. The book offers a chronicle of exhibitions she organized since 1975 and a testimony on the French photography scene. Gaillard recounts ongoing debates, such as photography's ambiguous relationship with contemporary art. After the 1970s, when both public and photographers were reluctant to see photography as art, the 1980s saw a clear distinction between artists using the medium and photographers. Gaillard championed the latter, who she says were neglected by institutions, making her feel she 'lived in clandestinity.' This feeling was reinforced in 1988 when photography galleries were excluded from FIAC, which she attributes to a 'war for power and money' started by generalist galleries. She does not comment on the recent inclusion of major generalist galleries at Paris Photo. Gaillard admits she is not a businesswoman, describing the market as 'a sensitive and living matter, experienced with strong emotions.' She is driven by freedom to exhibit whomever she wants and pleasure in 'seeing life through others' eyes,' especially through loyal relationships with Bernard Faucon and Hervé Guibert, who receive the book's most beautiful pages.