Daniel Templon who was then only 21, founded the gallery in 1966. The gallery opened rue Bonaparte in Saint Germain des Prés. In 1972, the gallery moved to its current location, rue Beaubourg, only a 5 mn walk from the Pompidou Center, which opened in 1977. Daniel Templon was one of the pioneers of the contemporary art in Paris and started by exhibiting many conceptual and minimal artists such as
Donald Judd, Art&Language, Dan Flavin, Frank Stella,
Richard Serra etc.
Many artists, now part of art history, have been represented by the gallery:
Arman, Andre, Basquiat, Boltanski, Buren, César, Clemente, Cucchi, Immendorff, Flavin, Haring, Kelly, de Kooning, Lichtenstein, Rauschenberg, Schnabel, Stella, Warhol among many others.
Daniel Templon has always been an active spokesperson for contemporary art in France. In 1972, he founded the influential art magazine ART PRESS, followed in 1986 by the monthly art review ART STUDIO. His short-lived Fondation Daniel Templon in Fréjus (1989-1993) set the model for many art foundations, which opened later in France.
In 1994, Daniel Templon was one of the founding members of ADIAF, an association of art collectors devoted to the promotion of French contemporary art. The association is now well known for its organization of the annual Prix Marcel Duchamp and its collaboration with the Musée National d’Art Moderne / Centre Pompidou.
Today the gallery remains faithful to its founding principles: representing and promoting living artists with strong individual personalities and radical practices in their field, regardless of age, media, trends or schools. The program thus promotes a dialogue between “classical contemporary art” and the cutting edge experiences of younger artists.
In June 2007, the gallery opened an additional space Impasse Beaubourg, which is devoted to experimental installations by gallery artists.
The gallery also provides curatorial expertise and assistance in the mounting of exhibitions by its artists in museums or international exhibitions. Many of its artists have participated in international exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale, Documenta, the Whitney Biennal etc.
The gallery has been participating in FIAC since its creation in 1974 and in ART BASEL since 1977.
