Entrée to Black Paris Blog

Thursday, June 27th, 2024

Timeless Treasures at Galerie Intemporel

Cover image: Artwork by Lester Cadalso Rodríguez 2002
© Entrée to Black Paris

Entrée to Black Paris is receiving more and more requests for visits to Galerie Intemporel, the private, Black-owned fine art gallery that we told you about in a December 2023 announcement.

Owner Laurence Choko is proud to have developed strong, ongoing relationships with the artists she represents, almost all of whom are African or of African descent. She has carefully cultivated these relationships over the years and always operates with each artist's best interests in mind.

Today I'm sharing images taken during a recent visit to Intemporel (which means "timeless" in English). The clients were a Sarah and Neria Spence, a mother and daughter visiting from the U.S. Neria is getting ready to embark on her undergraduate education and will major in art history, and Sarah thought she could benefit from an encounter that would prepare her for the relative dearth of exposure to Black art to which she would be exposed during her studies.

Choko told heartwarming stories about the artists as she presented their paintings, works on paper, and photos. The creatives whose work she showed included painter/sculptor/musician Henri Guédon (Martinique), painter/biologist Akai Ako (Ivory Coast), photographers Cirenaica Moreira and René Peña (Cuba), and painter/sculptor/photographer/videographer/scenographer Soly Cissé (Senegal).

Laurence Choko introduces herself and her gallery
© Entrée to Black Paris

Admiring a Henri Guédon work
© Entrée to Black Paris

Laurence Choko indicates wall of photos by Cirenaica Moreira
© Entrée to Black Paris

Listening to artist stories
© Entrée to Black Paris

Contemplating a work
© Entrée to Black Paris

As with any gallery, most of what is in the collection is not on the walls. Choko happily extended the visit to a room where several works are stored and showed sarah and Neria many additional exquisite pieces.

Showing a serigraph by Santiago Rodríguez Olazabal
© Entrée to Black Paris

At the end of the visit, everyone discussed the importance of acknowledging the depth and breadth of artistic practice that exists in Black communities across the globe and the challenges Black artists still face in having their work recognized and appreciated by the Eurocentric professional art world. The session provided a framework for the art history studies that Neria will undertake beginning this fall.

To reserve a private visit at Galerie Intemporel, contact paris@entreetoblackparis.com.