State of the Art

 Jeanne and Marie Line with Penelope Fillon at the May 8th opening

It takes a fairy godmother to get Cinderella to the ball, but my aunt got Penelope Fillon, wife of France’s Prime Minister -- not too shabby either!  Madame Fillon is the marraine (godmother) of the gallery.  What gallery you ask? 

 Galerie d’art des Forges. 

 My aunt, Marie Line Fourmont, is a painter.  For over 15 years she has been running a gallery connected to her home, where visitors come to capture some of the farmhouse charm and lovely still life paintings.  Now, Marie Line has just opened a larger art gallery in the tiny Viré-en-Champagne in the Sarthe (a village of 200 inhabitants). 

While the gallery will feature male and female artists from around France, my aunt specifically wanted a godmother for the space. 

My aunt laid the tile for the gallery herself.  My cousin Jeanne handled all the press and will manage the gallery.  This is what I mean when I say there are some pretty incredible women in my family.  And I haven’t even talked about the catering by my cousin Louise. 

 Reportage on local tv (you can see the farmhouse at the beginning and my cousin Jeanne and Marie Line are both interviewed).

 A sampling of my aunt’s work.

  Photo credit: Yann Ralec