Philippe Méaille (; born 27 April 1973) is a French author and

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

, and the founder and president of the

Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art The Château de Montsoreau-Museum Contemporary Art is a private museum open to the public in Montsoreau, France. It opened 8 April 2016. The permanent collection exhibited at Château de Montsoreau consists of Philippe Méaille's collection of w ...

. Currently, Méaille owns the world's largest collection of Art & Language works.

Career

After graduating from the Lycée Vauban in

Pontoise Pontoise () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise. Administration Pontoise is the official ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-d'Oise ''dép ...

, Méaille was admitted to Paris Descartes University where he studied Pharmacy. Méaille began his art collection when he arrived in Paris as a student. In 1994, Méaille began to build connections with Art & Language artists, including

gallerist An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art, or acts as the intermediary between the buyers and sellers of art. An art dealer in contemporary art typically seeks out various artists to represent, and builds relationshi ...

Eric Fabre. Méaille acquired a large number of works from the Swiss Rothschild Bank in 1996. These works had been purchased from the Swiss gallerist

Bruno Bischofberger Bruno Bischofberger (born 1940) is a Swiss art dealer and collector. Life Bischofberger was born in 1940 in Zürich. He studied art history, archaeology and ethnography (folk art) at the University of Zurich, with further studies at the unive ...

, in 1972.

When I was 20 or 21, I bought a work of Art & Language of 1965 called '' Mirror Piece'' and installed it in my apartment in Paris. After two or three days, I felt sad and stupid because I understood the limit imposed if these works were kept private. They would be like a discussion that was kept secret. Therefore I felt a responsibility to make this collection accessible to the widest possible public – ''The Private Museum of the Future'', Cristina Bechtler interview with Philippe Méaille, 2016.

Méaille, has since assembled the world's largest collection of Art & Language works. In 2000, Méaille installed his collection in the Château de la Bainerie, a former summer camp of the city of

Argenteuil Argenteuil () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Argenteuil is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department, the seat of the arrondissement of Argenteuil. Argenteuil is the sec ...

. The collection of Art & Language works was spread throughout the 50,000 square foot area of the château. In 2006, Méaille organized a public exhibition with Nantes school of Beaux-arts. In 2011, Méaille announced a long-term loan of 800 works of Art & Language to the MACBA. In 2014, Jill Silverman van Coenegrachts became the curator of Méaille's collection. In 2014, the MACBA organized a major retrospective of the group Art & Language, which was titled ''Art & Language uncompleted: The Philippe Méaille Collection.'' The retrospective contained works which were loaned by Méaille. In 2015, Méaille signed a 25-year lease for the

Château de Montsoreau The Château de Montsoreau is a Flamboyant Gothic castle in the Loire Valley, directly built in the Loire riverbed. It is located in the small market town of Montsoreau, in the Maine-et-Loire ''Departments of France, département'' of France, ...

, a castle located in the Loire valley. That same year, Méaille founded the

, where approximately 80 works of his collection are permanently exhibited. In 2017, Méaille decided not to renew his lease with the MACBA, and instead decided to repatriate his entire collection to the Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art. Méaille stated that the main reason for this decision was the political instability in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

Books

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meaille, Philippe 1973 births Living people 20th-century art collectors 21st-century art collectors French art collectors Directors of museums in France French art curators Museum founders Art & Language People from Enghien-les-Bains