Female Voices in Art: Gaby Sismann, Art Historian, Art Dealer and Creator

Gaby Sismann (b. 1972, San Juan, US) was brought up in Canada and lived in Argentina as a teenager. She came to France in 1991 to study at the Sorbonne University. In Paris she became an art historian specializing in Renaissance and Italian Sculpture, after long studies in Egyptology, resulting in a Ph.D in Renaissance Sculpture. In 1994, she and her husband created their gallery in Paris. Galerie Sismann organizes exhibitions, regularly participates in international exhibitions and has contributed to the expansion of important private collections and of prestigious institutions across the world. For 2020, she works on a project to incorporate ancient amulets and other historic keepsakes into jewellery settings. The specific choice of her work around these relief images echoes her specialization as an art historian (Sculpture) but also her activity as an art dealer.

Could you tell us something about your role in the art world?

My international standing gallery has gained widespread renown as one of the few exhibition spaces devoted to a whole spectrum of European dating from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Classical and the Baroque periods and the 18th century. Most of my works are totally unknown to the art market and constitute real artistic discoveries accompanied by research often leading to attributions.I write and I publish each year in the Autumn a catalogue presenting the discoveries and major attributions of Galerie Sismann, a highly anticipated meeting of specialists and enlightened amateurs of European sculpture.

What did you enjoy about being a part of this project?

The opportunity to share my story ( which has not been a fast track journey given my Life History and family Life as a mother of three children ) and to learn from others.

Do you have a favourite artist?

It's so difficult to pick just one! Mantegna, Rembrandt, Bernini, Beethoven, Maria Callas, Fellini to start with...

What is your earliest memory involving art?

The discovery of the hidden mausoleum of the first Qin Emperor when I was a child definitely determined my aspiration to dig into the past! More poetic and visionary, by the age of 11, drawing up inventories at my dearest grand aunt and uncle's old house. Classifying furniture, paintings, objects. Alicia Amado de Naon was an opera singer, her husband, Jorge Naon, an architect. They were a beautiful and brilliant couple of artists and human beings. I simply adored and admired them. One of the most influential meetings of my Life.

Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world?

In the art market world where I come from, woman have progressively overtaken dominant and influential positions. I am thinking of contemporary galleries and journals (Almina Rech, Inna Bazhenova ) Nonetheless, I feel women still struggle to make a difference. If you look closely, you will notice they are very few in leading Fair committees and boards ( Tefaf, Brafa, to begin with ).

What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it?

I picked out minimalist and simple outfits from my personal cloakroom believing it would be more natural and realistic to be portrayed as I resemble in real Life ( besides my personal clothing style, black and white are the two colours I mostly wear along with gold and red).

And as a matter of fact, I actually do wear the pieces in real Life I have been photographed with such as the Roman Baroque gilt cross contemporary to Bernini, the Renaissance silver plaque depicting Minerva from a German cabinet of curiosities or even the immense Baroque Portuguese Brooch converted into a ring.

What impact has the current health crisis on your daily practice?

The Covid-19 health crisis has had an immense impact on my daily practice but unpredictability is the DNA of my profession. In order to be a dealer you need to commit to a complicated and sometimes dangerous Life style. You can be very surprised by the risks we take to ply our trade. That’s the irony; there isn’t a typical day or "daily practice " being an Art dealer. Every day is punctuated by economical, cultural and societal expectations which are exciting but can also generate stress and anxiety. That said, we are facing the worst crisis of the century because suddenly we are prevented from working over a long time span leaving many of us bankrupt. As for me, I have overcome several past crises and no matter how rough its gets, there's always light somewhere which draws me on. At the moment, profoundly reflecting on the different means to raise public awareness about the irreplaceable necessity of the Art Market and its survival.

Is it changing your views on Art?

We have all heard Dostoevsky quote " Beauty will save the world". It is my belief. And I am pretty sure people will turn to Art for relief more than ever.

As to my craft, I’m open minded; my work offers a combination of very different periods, from religious to pagan, different countries, and with different aesthetics. The audience of my gallery has always witnessed various worlds and I am remaining loyal to the intellectual and artistic program I’ve been elaborating for over 25 years.

Are you creating new initiatives and ways of working?

There’s no surprise to reconstruction. The key is hard work. You have to be willing to serve your clients no matter what; to choose their interest in the long run rather than reap the benefits of your own success early on. You have to encourage your team the same way, by cultivating trust amongst collaborators; your clients, the institutions, the press and again, your clients. Because everyone plays a key part in the collective success of a gallery.

I am a self-made woman and a hard worker mostly passionate about culture. A part from the digital showcase, I should be taking the gallery to a new level of visibility experimenting crossed artistic experiences. At the frontier of another artistic activity, I have personally started creating jewelry from antique pieces. Actually "Portable Art Works" , antique goldsmith treasures converted into modern adornments. History and Art are everywhere . Why not wear them ?