Emmanuel Perrotin

Emmanuel Perrotin (born 6 May 1968 in Montreuil) is the French contemporary art gallery owner and founder of Galerie Perrotin.

Biography

Early life and education Emmanuel Perrotin is the son of Michel Perrotin, a bank clerk, and Odile Pradinas, a stay-at-home mother. He grew up in the Parisian suburb of L'Étang-la-Ville. His parents were not contemporary art lovers, but often took him to the museum. He describes having been fascinated at the age of seventeen by a work by Henry Michaux at the Centre Pompidou, which may have influenced his career.

He left school, the Lycée autogéré de Paris, at the age of 17 without a school leaver's certificate or baccaulauréat qualification. Connections he made from evening socialising, particularly with the daughter of gallerist Gilbert Brownstone, led him to manage the Parisian gallery belonging to Charles Cartwright, notably exhibiting works by Marina Abramovic and George Condo. He thus sold his first work, a painting by John Armleder, for 6,000 francs.

First galleries in France He opened his first "gallery" in 1990 in his apartment and made a name for himself notably by exhibiting Damien Hirst as early as 1991, followed by Maurizio Cattelan in 1994, and Takashi Murakami He selects the artists that he exhibits with a great deal of eclecticism, which differentiates him from other gallerists.

In 2005, the Perrotin Gallery moved to 76 rue de Turenne, into a private mansion from the eighteenth century, then extended into 10 impasse Saint-Claude in 2007.

In 2023, he was considered the fifth greatest gallerist in the world according to the ArtReview ranking. In 2024, he developed a partnership with eBay, and opened an online boutique, targeting amateur artists, with the goal of opening art up to an ever wider audience.

International development Emmanuel Perrotin started participating in international art fairs in Japan in 1993. With the aim of maintaining the reputation of the artists he exhibits, Emmanuel Perrotin regularly opens new exhibition venues – either pop-up or permanent fixtures – in different countries. He then opened several galleries in his name in Hong Kong (2012), New York City (2013), Seoul (2016), Tokyo (2017), Shanghai (2018), and Los Angeles (2024),

In April 2018, Perrotin accompanied president Emmanuel Macron on a state visit to Washington; on this occasion, he also attended a state dinner at the White House. The same year, the French Minister of Culture, Françoise Nyssen, awarded him the title of Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters. In 2023, he employed approximately one hundred and sixty people. The press sometimes has nicknamed him the "French Gagosian", in reference to American gallerist Larry Gagosian.

In 2025, he sold a 51% stake in his gallery network to Colony Investment Management.

Other activities Very early on, he developed his activity on social networks to attract audiences who were unused to frequenting art galleries, in the aim of increasing artwork sales. He has amicable relations with the artists he exhibits and is well known for organising festive events and soirées, He also proposes creative workshops and awareness-raising activities for children regarding artistic practices.

Private life He has three children.

Honours Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters, in 2017.