From the very beginning, Marie-Anne Couvreu recognised the significant impact of opening the gallery.
“We were very surprised by the success of the space.
There were 500 people at the first opening, even though we didn’t have a mailing list yet; word of mouth did all the work. We had 2,500 visitors for the first exhibition.
Le Monde, Libération, and Nova Magazine all praised the event.
Our audience? Lots of students, graphic designers too, curious people who don’t know what a poster is. We also had visits from many politicians and people who are involved in decision-making. Graphic design schools extend the teaching of the discipline within the gallery.
For each exhibition, we welcome no fewer than 150 groups of students.”
“Marie-Anne Couvreu wasn’t necessarily looking for a guiding principle; she left a lot of room for the artists on display. She immediately sensed things in terms of how they were constructed and structured. She saw things.
She didn’t intellectualise them, she spotted them, and I learned a lot from her. I learned to see and to assemble. She composed the exhibition, because it was a space that we reappropriated with each exhibition.
Nawal Bakouri, director of Galerie Anatome 2005/2011
The gallery quickly brought cultural credibility to the agency, which had a strong left-wing political stance. Bertrand Delanoé attended the openings and the agency worked regularly with Paris City Hall.
“At first, some of the committed graphic designers kept their distance or remained observant, and there was a certain amount of mistrust towards a “communications agency” launching a graphic arts gallery, with questions about its orientation and intentions.
But very quickly, the ice was broken and the opening nights were always a whirlwind of graphic and human excitement: hundreds of people, from established graphic designers to the youngest, mingled with sponsors and graphic design enthusiasts.”
Malte Martin, graphic designer and visual artist
“The story of Anatome is the story of a successful imposture.
It marks the irruption of communication agencies into the small world of socio-cultural graphic design under the guise of patronage – with the gallery of the same name. The Anatome agency was to discover the pleasures of tax breaks and, above all, compete with graphic design studios by giving away their creations to town halls, trade unions and other associations, while profiting from media plans. By dividing the studios with prizes and other distinctions.
I knew Henri Meynadier, he was friendly and all the more dangerous for it… At the time, Anatome was a bad omen for me!!!
François Miehe, Grapus, Atelier François Miehe & Cie
Laure Alberhe, who now hosts ‘Matins jazz’ on TSF Jazz, had been working for several years at the Anatome agency in Montpellier as a project manager. Henry Meynadier brought her to Paris to join the team and take charge of managing the gallery.
In 2001, Étienne Robial was assisted in setting up his exhibition by two students from the Ésad in Amiens, Stéphane Dupont and Maxime Bardier, who within a few months became permanent members of the gallery staff. Stéphane went on to become vice-president until the gallery closed in 2012.
Étienne Robial, Maxime Barbier, Stephane Dupont and Michel Bouvet will be members of the association’s Board of Directors.
