Opening reception Friday, June 27, 4 to 8 pm and Saturday, June 28, 2 to 7 pm
Closing reception Saturday, September 13, 2 to 7 pm
Opening hours: 2 to 7 pm, Wednesday to Saturday and by appointment. In general, the artist JPS and certain other artists will be present at the gallery on Saturday afternoons from 3 pm to 6 pm.
NB: From July 13 to August 20, the gallery will only be open by appointment with the gallery owner Heidi or JP Sergent.

Heidi Sutter, an experienced Swiss gallery owner, chose Besançon to open this space where international and local artists engage in dialogue. “It's a somewhat hidden place, you have to ring the bell to get in, but it creates an intimate, almost confidential atmosphere,” explains Jean-Pierre Sergent.
The current exhibition brings together five artists from very different worlds. Among them, Jean-Pierre pays tribute to his recently departed friend Guimbarde, whose work blends etchings with a sacred dimension. “He was an artist with great spiritual depth, and it's this part of him that we want to show.”

Jean-Pierre Sergent, an artist from Besançon with an international career, opens the doors of the Galerie Keller, an intimate and confidential space dedicated to sacred, mystical and committed art. Let's talk about a moving and inspiring exhibition:

Thierry Eme: So, I'm here with Jean-Pierre Sergent, a well-known artist who's come a long way - an International journey, you might say!

Jean-Pierre Sergent: Yes, Thierry, it's always a great pleasure to talk to you, because you have a great interest in artists and in art in general.

T. E.: So, we're in a gallery that opened a few months ago.

J-P. S.: Yes, we opened in December. It's my friend Heidi Suter, who has been a gallery owner in Zurich for 40 years and couldn't find a new space there, so she moved to Besançon to open a gallery that will show international and local artists too.

[short version, 2mn]

Between shared emotions and sincere tributes, Galerie Keller gives Jean-Pierre Sergent carte blanche for an exhibition as free as it is full of tenderness. Bric-à-Brac & Impromptus brings together five artists linked by heart as much as by art, in a poetic and jubilant alchemy.
Barely open, this small gallery is making a big splash. In January, Heidi Suter, a gallery owner from Zurich who had recently moved to Besançon, invited Jean-Pierre Sergent to take part in Galerie Keller's first exhibition. The most New York of Besançon artists is now back as curator, and for this second event, he has surrounded himself with four artists from the region who are close to his heart. On view until June 21.
AN EXHIBITION OF ARTISTIC FRIENDSHIP
BRIC-À-BRAC [ODDS AND ENDS] & IMPROMPTUS [TIMELESS, INTEMPESTIVE, EROTIC, CHRISTIC, ANARCHIC, ECSTATIC, JUBILATORY & ORGASMIC]: this is the name of this group show, in which each work, subtly selected by Jean-Pierre Sergent, brings out the full power of the work of artists who have made a lasting mark on the landscape and cultural heritage of the City of Besançon.
Entering the exhibition is like meeting a group of friends. And that's the whole concept. Jean-Pierre Sergent has succeeded in bringing together, in this unique venue, the disparate and heterogeneous works of artists he has crossed paths with, and with whom he has forged unfailing links. Inspired linocuts, committed red canvases, magnified black and yellow Plexiglas, tall totem poles and surprising small formats all come together in a touching, conceptual, almost divine harmony....

Documentary film presenting the artist silk-screening his new art prints series: "Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes". Filmed by the artist on September 13th 2024.

Documentary film presenting the artist silk-screening his new art prints series: "Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes". Filmed by the artist on September 12th 2024.

Documentary film presenting the artist silk-screening his new art prints series: "Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes". Filmed by the artist on September 9th 2024.

Documentary film presenting the artist Jean-Pierre Sergent exposing the silk-screen frames of his new series: "Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes". Filmed by the artist on September 6th 2024.

Documentary film presenting the artist Jean-Pierre Sergent exposing the silk-screen frames of his new series: "Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes". Filmed by the artist on September 6th 2024.

Documentary film presenting the artist silk-screening his new art prints series: Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes. Filmed by the artist on August 27th 2024.

Documentary film presenting the artist silk-screening his new art prints series: Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes. Filmed by the artist on August 27th 2024.

Morteau-born Jean-Pierre Sergent is currently exhibiting at the new Galerie Keller in Besançon. Through his works, the artist explodes pleasure, desire and eroticism. An encounter that leaves no visitor indifferent.
Once in front of 7, rue Prudhon in BESANÇON, push open the blue porte cochère and walk to the end of the corridor to find the Galerie Keller opened by Heidi Suter last december. This discreet place is frequented by art lovers, curious to meet artists whose work breaks with conformism and conventional language. Jean-Pierre Sergent is one such artist. 
The Morteau-born artist, who lived for a time in New York before settling his studio permanently in Besançon, is currently presenting his work as part of the "Erotica, Works on Paper" exhibition. The statement sets visitors on their way, preparing them for a confrontation with the paintings of Jean-Pierre Sergent, whose commitment is a perpetual exploration of desire, eroticism, ecstasy and jouissance that transcends the body. "There is nothing any more beyond orgasm", he says...

Movie of a canoeing trip in the Doubs Basins, a river that forms the border between Switzerland and France. The artist presents the place where he often goes canoeing. We discover the beauty of nature, the timeless presence of rocks and the changing fluidity of the river. Filmed on August 6th 2024, cameras : Lionel Franck Georges & Jean-François Delamain.

GROUP EXHIBITION "BRIC-À-BRAC [ODDS AND ENDS] & IMPROMPTUS [TIMELESS, INTEMPESTIVE, EROTIC, CHRISTIC, ANARCHIC, ECSTATIC, JUBILATORY & ORGASMIC]" with artists CLAUDIE FLOUTIER / NOËL GIRARD-CLOS, known as GUIMBARDE / ELISABETH BARD / BERTRAND SAULNIER / JEAN-PIERRE SERGENT

MYSTICISM, PLEASURE & DEATH, BY JEAN-PIERRE SERGENT, EXHIBITION CURATOR, BESANÇON, FEBRUARY 28, 2025

Curating a group exhibition is not always an easy task, because it means exhibiting and bringing together strong, powerful, individualistic personalities who very often have a strong and powerful ego, as well as a strong will to take on the whole world. The “Bric-à-Brac” exhibition therefore presents a very heterogeneous group of works by artists who are still living or have worked in Besançon over the years, including myself. 
We are all warriors, fighters and survivors, hard-working and tireless, sure of our irrevocable and indescribable decision to be artists and to do what we have to do!  And to create, come what may, and in spite of life's ups and downs, a special, strong, powerful, joyful, irreverent and transcendental work of art.

Born in Morteau, France, Jean-Pierre SERGENT has been drawing and painting since childhood. After a few years as an Appaloosa horse breeder in the Doubs region, the artist moved to Montreal and then New York to try his luck in the art world, where he enjoyed great success.
In 2005, he returned to France and set up his studio in Besançon. Exhibited at the MBAA and recognized by his peers, the artist has just opened Galerie KELLER on rue Proudhon with a friend.
A special program lasting over 90 minutes, in the form of a voyage of initiation, in which this passionate painter opens up with sincerity about his career, his artistic and spiritual approach, his inspiration drawn from travel, art for women and so much more... 
All accompanied by an atypical and eclectic playlist:

* Las Clásicas De La Cumbia : Se Me Perdio La Cadenita, 
* L’évêque Mariann Budde, discours contre Donald Trump, 21 janvier 2025 dans la cathédrale de l’église épiscopale de Washington
* Gopal Krishan : Raga Baïrag (India)
* Samira Sarna Ward, une artiste peintre enseignante iranienne, discours de 2024 sur l’art féminin en Iran.
* Eminem, The Real Slim Shady 
* Vaimalama, Jardin d’hiver, Henri Salvador
* Takini : Women’s Traditional Song Round Dance, Musique Des Lakota Sioux D’Amerique Du Nord
* Joe Dassin, le chemin de papa
Chanson surprise de Pépé Coyote : Talking Heads « Once in a Lifetime » (1980)

- I, SILKSCREEN WORK ON THE SERIES "KARMA-KALI, SEXUAL DREAMS & PARADOX" 2022-2024
- II, FRENCH CULTURAL EROTICISM, FOR EXAMPLE, TWO QUOTATIONS: THE MARQUIS DE SADE & GEORGES BATAILLE [CONTINUITY-DISCONTINUITY]
- III, MYSTICAL ECSTASY: TANTRISM, TECHNIQUES OF DESTRUCTION & ANNIHILATION OF THE EGO
- IV, EROTICISM & DEATH IN EGYPT, PASSAGE & REBIRTH THROUGH THE BODY & IN ALL-ENCOMPASSING GEOMETRIC PATTERNS
- V, WORDS OF THE BUDDHA & SOME OF THE WORKS IN THIS "EROTICA" EXHIBITION
- VI, SOME COOKIE-CUTTER QUOTES ABOUT ART

- V, SOME OF THE WORKS FROM THIS "EROTICA" EXHIBITION 
- V, - 1, A few cookie-cutter quotes about Art : Jean-Luc Godard, David Lynch, Jasper Johns, Anaïs Nin, Simone Weil: Gravity & Grace

- V, WORDS OF THE BUDDHA, SOME OF THE WORKS IN THIS “EROTICA” EXHIBITION AND THE SOLUTION-RESPONSE TO PREVIOUS WORKS [À POSTERIORI]
- V, 1, Words of the Buddha : The lightning silence, The diamond sutra, Thich Nhat Hanh 
- V, 2, 5 works from the series “Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes” 2022
 

- IV, EROTISM & DEATH IN EGYPT, PASSAGE & REBIRTH THROUGH THE BODY & IN ENGLOVING GEOMETRIC PATTERNS [VULVES & MATRICES, OCEANIC FEELING & RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER BEINGS]
- IV, - 1, Text by Herodotus, Book II
- IV, - 2, 2 Texts by JPS about pornography & his work

- II -1, 10 Works from the new series “Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes” [2024]

- III, MYSTICAL ECSTASY: TANTRISM, TECHNIQUES OF EGO DESTRUCTION & ANNIHILATION (CONJUNCTIONS AND DISJUNCTIONS BY OCTAVIO PAZ)

- I, SILKSCREEN WORK ON THE SERIES “KARMA-KALI, SEXUAL DREAMS & PARADOX” 2022-2024

- I, - 1, Some photos of JPS at work, summer 2024

- II, FRENCH CULTURAL EROTICISM, FOR EXAMPLE, TWO QUOTES: THE MARQUIS DE SADE & GEORGES BATAILLE [CONTINUITY-DISCONTINUITY]
 

Documentary film presenting the artist silk-screening his new art prints series: Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes. Filmed by the artist on August 27th 2024.

From mid-December to March 22, the new Galerie Keller at 7 rue Proudhon presents Jean-Pierre Sergent's exhibition "Erotica / Works on Paper". This first show features eight previously unseen works - chosen from a total of 566 - from his recent Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes series, produced in 2024. Silkscreened on paper, they combine acrylic and Indian ink highlights. Also on view are small-format works from the Shakti-Yoni series and a large-scale painting on Plexiglas from his Mayan Diary series. With this exhibition, gallery owner Heidi Suter, with forty years' experience in Zurich, marks her new coming in Besançon City. An unmissable opportunity to explore the world of the Franco-New York artist. The Gallery is open from Wednesday to Saturday and by appointment. Page 37

Documentary film presenting the artist silk-screening his new art prints series: Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes. Filmed by the artist and cameraman Lionel Georges on August 26th 2024.

Documentary film presenting the artist silk-screening his new art prints series: Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes. Filmed by the artist and cameraman Lionel Georges on August 25th 2024.

- Journalist France 3: We're going to talk about culture now, with these original works, currently on view in a new Art Gallery that has just opened its doors in the Besançon Town Center. The first exhibition, entitled "Erotica, Works on Papers", is devoted to the work of Franco-New-York artist Jean-Pierre Sergent. Laurent Ducrozet and Jean-Stéphane Maurice take us into his world. Have a look!

- Laurent Ducrozet: There are always a few doors to push to enter an artist's world. Behind the door of this gallery-apartment are the works of Jean-Pierre Sergent. With some with works from the New York and Besançon eras. The entrance is narrow, but enough to understand about this prolific artist accumulating working process. His screen-printed work is built up of entangled successive layers.

- Jean-Pierre Sergent: I continue to work like this, precisely with the superimposition and layering of the images, to blur the lines and create a kind of confusion. I strongly believe that beauty is born of confusion somehow. Because when you encounter something beautiful, astonishing, you're subjugated and bewildered. So I really want with my artwork to destabilize the viewer. Read more

Documentary film presenting the artist silk-screening his new art prints series: Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes. Filmed by the artist on August 23rd 2024.

Documentary film presenting the artist silk-screening his new art prints series: Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes. Filmed by the artist on August 21st 2024.

The French-American artist Jean-Pierre Sergent has teamed up with his long time friend Heidi Suter, a gallery owner from Zurich, to open the Keller gallery at 7, rue Proudhon, in Besançon, France. A first exhibition, Erotica - Works on Paper, featuring several of his creations, is on view until March 22.
Launched in December 2024, this exhibition presents eight works from the series Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes, created by Jean-Pierre Sergent in the summer of 2024. Through his work, the artist seeks to reveal the spiritual dimension of eroticism, through serigraphs constructed from patterns inspired by his artistic research. “Sexuality is the basis of everything. It's important for me to show it also through spirituality. People often dissociate the two concepts but, in India, for example, the awakening of the senses includes these themes.

A 360° 3D film shot in partnership with Agence Vauban of Besançon, camera Mathieu Allard) filmed on location on January 17th 2025. Discover, as if you were there, the three different rooms of the Keller Gallery space directed by Heidi Suter and all JPS artworks of his solo exhibition's "Erotica / Paper Works", and navigate inside the beautiful and intimate Gallery.

Documentary film presenting the artist silk-screening his new art prints series: Karma-Kali, Sexual Dreams & Paradoxes. Filmed by the artist on August 16th 2024.