Georges Verney-Carron b.1944 

The professional and personal life of Georges Verney-Carron is articulated in a remarkable double face, driven by a passion for creation and plastic arts, which gave birth to an entire project: to reconcile art, business and the city. As a child, while playing on roller skates, this native of Saint-Etienne, the prodigal son of a famous family business, discovered modern art at the Museum of Art and Industry in Saint-Etienne, then directed by Maurice Allemand. As an adult, he experienced his first love for art with Guy de Rougemont (1971) and then in 1980 with Daniel Buren, whom he met thanks to his close ties with a young association, Le Nouveau Musée.

The idea of a gallery occurred to him very quickly. It was under the name of Gaston/Nelson Gallery, then Nelson Gallery, that the first exhibitions took place in the premises on the Rue Émile Zola. Although not yet mature enough to take care of the artistic direction, he knew, on the other hand, how to persuade companies to sponsor young artists. From 1983 to 1986, Basile Bustamante, Thomas Schutte, François Perrodin, Gloria Friedmann, and Gerard Traquandi, in all a total of twenty artists little known to the public at that time, will show works that are for the most part now in both French and foreign public and private collections.

In 1984, Georges Verney-Carron extended his professional life by combining his artistic knowledge and passion. He founded Art/Entreprise, a unique structure whose mission is to reconcile the world of business, the world of communities and the world of creators, whether they are artists, architects, designers, or graphic artists. Four years later, he took charge of the artistic programming of the gallery, which became the Georges Verney-Carron Gallery.

He has worked with many artists since then: Daniel Buren (1991, 1995), Patrice Carr’ (1996), Jean-Gabriel Coignet (1988, 1991, 1993), Gerard Collin-Thiebaut (1991, 1993), Gloria Friedmann (1983, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990), Gottfried Honegger (1990, 1997), Francois Morellet (1988, 1993, 1997), Olivier Mosset (1993), Leonel Moura (1995), Martine Neddam (1992), Marylene Negro (1989), Francois Perrodin (1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995), Sarkis (1994), Rober Racine (1989, 1993, 1996), Didier Trenet (1991), Bernar Venet (1997), Michel Verjux (1988, 1993, 1994), etc.

Art/Entreprise has acquired international recognition thanks to the implantation of works of art inside parking lots (Daniel Buren, Dror Endeweld, Michel Verjux) and on the Place des Terreaux of the city of Lyon (Daniel Buren).