The gallery is still very young. It has character. It's filled with colourful, diverse works: paintings, sculptures, bas-reliefs, small furniture, and other mixed-media products. It occupies what locals remember as a long-time motel, on rue Richelieu, behind the Musée de Charlevoix. The address is 500. It was even gallerist Guylaine Fournier's father who built it. Not much of it remains, apart from the exterior walls and the foundation.
In 2021, Guylaine and her partner and co-owner Pierre Pellerin began transforming a partitioned space they had bought a few years earlier. What's more, the building is right next to her home in La Malbaie's Pointe-au-Pic sector.
Today, she's proud to welcome visitors to her gallery, which dazzles from the moment you step inside. Daylight is everywhere thanks to the many windows all around. Carefully directed lighting brings out the different works.
Guylaine Fournier has over 18 years of experience as a gallerist at her rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste gallery in old Baie-Saint-Paul, of which she is the sole owner. The gallery in La Malbaie, however, is independent of the other since it is run as a co-ownership, though several artists have their works displayed in both.
Interestingly, the Manoir Richelieu de Pointe-au-Pic recently asked to display some sixty works from Galerie 500 in several rooms and common areas of the hotel. This, of course, provides good visibility, as well as recognition of the quality of the product.
Guylaine Fournier never intended to go into this line of work. At 17, she left her family home in Charlevoix to finish her studies. At 22, she became a hotel owner. Later, an opportunity arose in Baie-Saint-Paul: a painter who ran a studio and was looking for someone to take over invited her to help with customer service. After two months, he offered to transfer everything into her name, and that’s how she became a gallerist.
She and her partner are motivated by several factors when selecting artists, including diversity, difference, contact with the artist, and of course personal favourites, in contemporary, figurative, and surrealist styles. Some artists become friends over time.
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A few projects are driving them at the moment, such as converting the second-floor apartment into a gallery, including an interior staircase for access. Visitors should be able to discover this new section starting in July 2023. They also hope to develop events, such as openings and cultural activities, including on the outdoor terrace they’re setting up for this purpose.
In short, Guylaine Fournier is brimming with enthusiasm about Galerie 500’s future. It’s essentially her clientele that motivates her to push herself.
Galerie d'art 500 Richelieu
galerie500richelieu.com
500, rue Richelieu
La Malbaie, Qc
(418) 665-7768