Perrotin Plows Ahead with ‘International Development’ as Dubai and Paris Locations Reopen

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Two galleries briefly operated under the name Bastok Lessel will soon reopen under the umbrella of French gallerist Emmanuel Perrotin.

After Perrotin parted ways with former partners Tom-David Bastok and Dylan Lessel last year citing ‘ethical differences’, the Perrotin name vanished from their respective marquees.

But now, after gaining a foothold in London last month, Perrotin is moving ahead with its plans for ‘international development’, with the two locations set to reopen in Paris and Dubai this spring, raising its gallery count to twelve.

The French enterprise, which already operates two galleries in Paris, including a site steps away at 2bis Avenue Matignon, will return to its Rive Droite site at 8 Avenue Matignon, which is set to open on 10 April.

Perrotin originally opened the five-storey townhouse as a secondary market gallery in 2021 in partnership with art dealers Bastok and Lessel, alongside a second site opened in 2022 in Dubai’s International Financial Centre (DIFC).

But both spaces closed in 2023, with Perrotin blaming ‘ethical differences’ and now a ‘legal dispute’ with the company of the previous managers.

Last February, the three dealers parted ways, with Perrotin selling his stake of both sites to Bastok and Lessel, who renamed the locations.

The rupture followed Perrotin’s talks with French private equity and real estate management firm Colony Investment Management, who planned to acquire a 60 percent stake in the gallery in June 2023.

Perrotin said the sale would facilitate the gallery’s ‘long-term growth plans and vision’, including expansion to new regions and developing new expertise.

In Dubai, Perrotin’s new 1,100-square-metre gallery at the heart of the DIFC will open on 16 April near auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s.

The gallery said having a permanent site will help to promote its artists in the region by ’[consolidating] its long-standing connections with the Arab world’.

At both locations, Perrotin will hold inaugural exhibitions that will seek to reflect the diversity of its programme, represented by established artists like Bharti Kher and Lee Bae, and rising names like Tatiana Trouvé and Hernan Bas.

Last February, Perrotin opened its first Los Angeles gallery, adding to locations in Paris, Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo, Seoul, and Shanghai. —[O]

Main image: Perrotin Paris, 8 Avenue Matignon. Courtesy Perrotin. Photo: Tanguy Beurdeley.