Gallerist Q&A - Coulisse Gallery

How did you get into the artworld - was there a particular experience or meeting that played an important role for you?

We both come from different areas in the creative field. Filip has a Master's degree from Konstfack in Stockholm, while Jeanette has a Master's degree in Curation and has worked as a freelance curator in London for many years. Filip founded the gallery in 2022, creating a space with a collaborative approach and broad outlook. We later joined forces, passionate about creating a young and dynamic gallery programme that supported and worked with both Swedish and international artists to give them new audiences in Sweden and abroad. Being connected to the international art scene is important to us, and we love attending international art fairs and organising exhibitions with some of the best galleries working today.

What are your primary responsibilities as gallerists and to whom?

Our primary responsibility is to our artists and our collectors. We are on this journey together, and it is crucial that our artists and collectors can rely on us to build a successful gallery and engaging programme. We believe in building long-lasting relationships and a sense of community, and that is what we invest in. Collaboration and investment of time and money require enormous trust from the artists and collectors we work with, and we do not take that for granted!

How do your backgrounds complement each other in the way you run the gallery?

Filip has endless energy and ideas, always scouting out new networks, contacts, art fairs or projects to work on. It is so important for us as a gallery to always be looking for ways to innovate, collaborate and evolve.

Jeanette has many years of experience working in the art world and is good at executing and planning.

We both believe in maintaining close relationships with our artists, collectors, and collaborators, and having common shared goals is very important.

How do you balance the commercial aspects of running a gallery with supporting artists' careers and practices?

Commercial success is extremely important for the survival of the gallery and for the longevity of our artists' careers. We believe in keeping costs as low as possible, investing smartly, and providing artists with a space where they feel their practices are respected and supported.

What is a piece of advice for someone who wants to start collecting art?

We would suggest looking for young galleries whose programmes you find engaging and intriguing. You can become part of the journey of the gallery and its artists, build long-lasting relationships, learn, and have a lot of fun along the way. Collecting is incredibly rewarding—go with your heart!

If you were to open a gallery in a new city where would it be and why?

We want to open a second gallery space when the time is right and have been considering different options. At the moment, we are looking at Berlin and Warsaw.

Filip is from Poland, and we have been very inspired by the art scene in Warsaw, which is probably one of the most cutting-edge scenes in Europe at the moment. We have collaborated with some of the galleries there, such as Piktogram, Gunia Nowik Gallery, and Wanda Gallery. We are also thrilled to be participating in the Hotel Warszawa Art Fair this September—Poland's first contemporary art fair hosted on the premises of an iconic hotel.

Berlin also has a very dynamic new energy, with many new galleries opening up in the past few years. However, we have no concrete plans just yet. Watch this space!

Where is the gallery headed - do you have any big plans for the future?

We are thrilled to be participating in CHART this year and will continue to explore other art fairs around the world, building our networks and expanding the Coulisse community. We can’t say for sure what is in store, but we will keep working and evolving and look forward to meeting many of you along the way!