Celebrating 30 Years of Opera Gallery
20 September 2024
As Opera Gallery celebrates its 30-year milestone, it's remarkable to look back on the gallery’s evolution. From its humble beginnings as a small booth at Singapore's Tresors Art Fair in 1994, Opera Gallery has transformed into a global network. Today, it boasts 16 venues located in cultural epicentres such as New York, London, Paris, and Singapore.
Opera Gallery's story began in Singapore when founder Gilles Dyan arrived with a suitcase filled with works by French artists—many of whom were his contemporaries and friends—which led to the gallery's first location opening in Singapore. The next significant milestone was the opening of a space in Paris, where the gallery became a platform for introducing Asian artists to European collectors, blending global and local perspectives in a way that became the gallery's hallmark. Since then, Opera Gallery has continued its international expansion with a consistent vision: think locally, act globally.
Each new gallery location has been chosen with a deep understanding of the local art scene. Dyan's approach of establishing an authentic connection with each city has enabled Opera Gallery to thrive and foster deeper cultural exchanges. This philosophy's success is evident in the gallery's roster of artists and collectors, which has grown to reflect its global presence and contribute to its expansion. Gilles Dyan reflects, "Opera Gallery is not, nor has it ever been, a solo enterprise. The success of the last 30 years has been made possible by my wife and co-founder, Florence; an outstanding team of gallery directors and staff worldwide; our loyal network of collectors and—perhaps most importantly—our artists."
To celebrate this milestone, Opera Gallery will host two exceptional exhibitions in Singapore and Paris, where the gallery began. This September our Singapore gallery will host 'The Collector 1994' exhibition, featuring a redesigned gallery space recreating an art collector's apartment from 1994, the same year Opera Gallery was founded. It will showcase works by Masters such as Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, Marc Chagall, Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Yayoi Kusama, Jean Dubuffet and Pierre Soulages. This unique exhibition will be followed by another at the Paris gallery in October, showcasing works by iconic 1980s artists from America and Europe in 'Transatlantique: Figurations des années 80'. It will feature works by artists such as Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Kenny Scharf, Robert Combas, Hervé Di Rosa and Jean Charles Blais.
