Paris: Magda Danysz of Galerie Magda Danysz
Steven Psyllos

The Galerie Magda Danysz in Paris represents the hottest young artists working today, no exaggeration. Check out her roster if you don’t believe me: Mark Ryden, Dalek, Shepard Fairey, Icon Tada, Ray Caesar, Miss Van, Ultralab, Erwin Olaf and Marion Peck. I recently was able to speak with the lovely Miss Danysz about her experiences as the owner of the gallery.
Steven Psyllos: How long have you been involved in the art world?
Magda Danysz: In a way, I have always been involved, with a parent being an artist. I spent my childhood wandering across the studio, hiding behind canvases, listening to artist debates. But it became clear to me when, through my mother’s German art dealer, I met Leo Castelli. I was 15. When I was 17, still a student and upon his advice, I started a first space here in Paris. A very modest place. After several years, in 1999, I opened the gallery as it stands now.
SP: When did you open your gallery? What inspired you to own your own space?
MD: The first space I ran was opened back in 1991. It was a small place where I would show artists that I knew and wanted to show. Street art was amongst the movements I wanted to support. At that time nobody here in France believed it was art. Little by little I learned what an art space should be like and achieved opening a bigger gallery in 1999, still with the same aim: showing artists people did not really know or accept yet. Like street art, with JonOne, Miss Van, Dalek, Shepard Fairey, but also digital art, with a group called Ultralab, or pop surrealism, with people like the Clayton Brothers, Mark Ryden, Marion Peck or Eric White.
SP: How do you seek out new artists to include in your roster?
MD: Being an art dealer is about looking everywhere for something new and powerful. I travel around the world looking for the best artists. Meeting people who introduce me to artists, lead me to studios and new shows. I love discovering new things.
SP: What do you look for in these artists?
MD: I think I am certainly drawn to powerful and different artists. I also like to feel the taste of my generation, with its qualities and its flaws. Back then, Leo Castelli told me: "Tell me who you show, I’ll tell you who you are." Later he added: "You will only see the art of your generation."
SP: What is the price range of works exhibited in 2005?
MD: I have always wanted to exhibit affordable works. Even though some of my artists are now much more expensive, I try to always have original works starting at a few hundred dollars.
SP: What is lined up for this spring at the Galerie Magda Danysz?
MD: I love spring, so many things happening, all the ideas I had time to work through during autumn and winter. In March, we have "Nostalgia," a three-person show with Sas Christian (a super American painter, whose very expressive work moved me at first sight), Ray Caesar (a Canadian digital artist whose detailed world is just crazy), and Erwin Olaf (a very intense Dutch photographer). Also in March, we’ll be at -scope New York with the pop surrealist Eric White, and some works by Marion Peck. In April, a Miss Van solo show. June through July, a Shepard Fairey solo show.
SP: Many galleries struggle each year just to survive. What is the recipe for success?
MD: I don’t think there is a recipe for success. Preparation and hard, hard, hard work is my motto. As I always say, it is not difficult to open a gallery, it is harder to keep it. Every show is a challenge and you have to be prepared for all of them as if they were the first one.
SP: What makes you different from other galleries in Paris?
MD: Every galley is different, being the reflection of its owner. In my case, starting young, with no money, knowing nothing but a few bits of wisdom from a guardian angel named Leo, gave me the will to fight for it. And I guess it made me pretty combative and full of energy. When you have nothing but energy, you can do it.