About us

The Jean-Pierre Velly Archive was founded in 2006 by Julie & Pierre Higonnet. Its objectives are to provide better exposure and understanding of the art of this specific artist through exhibitions in Museums, Foundations and public spaces, publications, conferences and this website. It also manages material about JPV (texts, photographs, letters, publications, etc) as well as keeping a certain amount of artworks (the complete set of etchings and some 30 uniques pieces - drawings, watercolors and oil paintings.

Pierre Higonnet, born in Paris in 1966, has been fascinated by the world of etching since his youth. In 1989, he moves to Venice, Italy. The year after, he meets briefly with Jean-Pierre Velly in Rome, just a few weeks before his demise. This encounter will change the course of his life. In 1993, he opens an contemporary Art gallery on the Island of the Giudecca, Venice, the “Galleria del Leone” dedicated to works on paper and black and white etchings. In 1994, he meets Rosa Estadella Velly and shows both her works and of her late husband - at this occasion he purchases 40 etchings by Velly.

But Higonnet’s daily involvement in this life-long project really began in 2002; completing his collection of Velly’s artworks, he started to gather material as well as testimonies on the artist, given by friends, family members, collectors and dealers.

In 2003, il made the acquaintance of Julie Grislain, an young up-and-coming Art historian. Together they curated the first Museum exhibition of Velly (“Un point c’est tout”, @ the MARQ of Clermont Ferrand  / October-November 2003). Read the forword (in French).

In 2007, they curated the exhibition : the Melancholies of Jean-Pierre Velly @ the Il Bisonte Fundation , Florence (read the forward (French and Italian)

Julie & Pierre Higonnet have curated the recent Velly exhibition : Between World at the Panorama Museum of Bad Frankenhausen, Germany (Oct 31-Feb 6, 2010). They will be organizing an important exhibition in Brittany in 2012-13.

They are putting together the catalogue raisonné, as well as a full biography.

Pierre Higonnet & Julie Grislain were married in July 2006. They currently live in Paris, after spending over 20 years in Italy.