Semiose: From Publishing House to Marais Gallery

Founded in 1999 as a publishing house by Benoît Porcher, Semiose became a gallery in 2007. Porcher, trained at École Estienne in engraving and book trades, started the association Un an ou deux, which became Semiose éditions in 2002, producing artist books and monographs. Early published artists include Anne Brégeaut, Françoise Pétrovitch, Taroop et Glabel. The gallery initially opened on rue des Montibœufs near porte de Bagnolet, an unusual Parisian address, then moved to rue Chapon in the Marais in 2009. The gallery represents sixteen artists across generations, from historical figures like Piero Gilardi, Présence Panchounette, and André Raffray (d. 2010) to younger artists such as Amélie Bertrand, Anita Molinero, Stéphane Calais, Guillaume Dégé, Julien Tibéri, Thomas Lanfranchi, Laurent Le Deunff, Bruno Rousselot, Hippolyte Hentgen, and Laurent Proux. Porcher cites Iris Clert's gallery as an inspiration. Semiose shows drawing, sculpture, and painting but little video or photography. At FIAC 2013, the gallery presented a radical stand with Sir Thomas Trope by Julien Tibéri and Aurélien Mole, a rotating monumental cimaise. Porcher emphasizes a proximity-based approach, with few international artists, and notes the difficulty of maintaining artistic questioning amid economic crisis.