INSIGHTS | Simon Delobel (Paid by the artist)

In the frame of Art Brussels Insights, we spoke with Simon Delobel, the owner of Paid by the artist about the concept he created where the brand identity of his gallery-model adapts according to the artist’s vision.

Can you tell us more about how the brand identity of your gallery adapts according to the artist’s vision?
Last November I decided to stop with trampoline, the gallery I created five years ago. I had the feeling that people’s ideas of what trampoline was doing or representing, were sometimes quite far from my initial intentions when I created it. My main interest was never developing a gallery brand. I also never have had the necessary financial capital to work on individual career strategies. I see myself as an amateur and not as a professional and do not believe in an art system where you have to define your goals beforehand. I have for example never sent any application to Art Brussels or any other fair. I’m currently creating a new gallery for each new exhibition project I organize. A kind of Sisyphus position for which a traditional business plan seems difficult to establish. But by doing so, I allow myself the freedom to create as many galleries as there are projects, instead of sustaining a brand. Since November 2018, four galleries have already been created: +322324349381076181155396, Post-Gallery, 1986 and Simon Delobel Gallery. Each of these galleries might be reactivated in the future. See it like flowers: they bloom and die and some of them flourish again the year after.
Every new name of the gallery is created in a dialogue with the artist exhibiting his work. Paid by the artist, the current name of the gallery is an ad-hoc reaction to the opportunity of being invited to Art Brussels.

What will you be presenting at INVITED at Art Brussels 2019 ?
A solo-booth by Belgian artist Yannick Ganseman. We decided to propose an interpretation of his studio. The visitors will be able to discover the full content of his daily creative environment, from his drawing table to his bookshelves.

What is the importance of being part of INVITED at Art Brussels 2019 for Paid by the artist?
Without the generous invitation of Art Brussels, the gallery Paid by the artist simply wouldn’t have existed! Yannick and I are truly thankful to the organizers of the fair for the opportunity they gave us to develop a project that we didn’t need to legitimate.

Do you have any advice for young, aspiring art collectors?
Don’t listen to any advice. Be a true amateur!