"Galerie Richard has distinguished itself again as one of Manhattan's more cutting edge galleries for the latest experiments in the visual arts" published in Kiyoshi Nakagami: A new Twist on Light and Darkness at Galerie Richard, NY by Daniel Gauss in examiner.com On January 12, 2014. 

Jean-Luc and Takako Richard opened their gallery in 1989 under the name of Galerie OZ in the Bastille area. Their motivation has always been to discover young new artists from any country and support them in their development. Galerie OZ established its reputation by bringing together Maximalists artists from New York such as: Arch Connelly, Christopher Tanner, Rhonda Zwillinger, Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt and Pepon Osorio. Galerie OZ also represented Robert Groborne, Milan Kunc, Joost Van den Toorn, Robert Kushner, Choi Jeong Hwa, Christophe Avella-Bagur, Stefan Hoenerloh, Rainer Gross, Erwin Olaf, Bae Bien-U, Jacqueline Hassink...

In 2002 the gallery moved to Saint-Louis island, adopted the new name of Galerie Jean-Luc & Takako Richard as well as a new exhibition program that was more focused on new painting. The gallery mostly organized solo shows with new artists such as Kiyoshi Nakagami, Yek, Paul Henry Ramirez, Carl Fudge, Adam Ross,  Hervé Heuzé, Beverly Fishman, Alice Stepanek & Steven Maslin, Scott Anderson, Yuichi Higashionna, Shirley Kaneda, Tim Bavington.

In 2006 the gallery moved to its current location in the Marais and doubled its space in 2007 with a 400 square meter exhibition space. In 2007 the gallery joined the Professional Committee of Art Galleries. The gallery exhibited emerging artists such as David Ryan, Sven-Ole Frahm, and more established ones such as Bram Bogart, Ron Gorchov, Frank Stella, Judy Pfaff, Alain Kirili, Linda Besemer, Joseph Nechvatal.  In the exhibition The Incomplete - Paris in 2010, the gallery introduced 28 artists collected by Hubert Neumann.

In 2011 they opened a second gallery in Chelsea in New York The gallery name was changed in Galerie Richard. In 2012 they presented a Takesada Matsutani's retrospective exhibition in Paris and in 2013 a double show in New York and Paris. In 2014 they organized an itinerary exhibition John M Armleder - Jean Carzou in New York, Paris, and Miami at Untitled. The gallery has developed a digital photography program with Dionisio González, Li Wei, Lauren Marsolier, Olaf Rauh and Yang Yi. In 2015 Galerie Richard sold a major work by Matsutani to The Centre Georges Pompidou. In 2015 they moved to Lower East Side. Jeremy Thomas joined both galleries, and Scott Anderson came back to the Parisian gallery. In 2018 the gallery was pleased to represent Koen Delaere, Sebastian Ludwig, Eduardo Portillo, Dennis Hollingsworth and Kim Young-Hun. In 2019 the gallery is representing Gustavo Prado, Rainer Gross, Peter Zimmermann, and Amy Ellingson.

"Coming to Chelsea" The Art Newspaper: The International Edition, September 2011

Even in these up-and-down times, street level galleries are budding in Chelsea. Jean-Luc Richard, who has a gallery in Paris, has been planning to open in New York for three years, He signed a lease on a 24th Street space a year ago, which will debut with a show of paintings by an American artist, Paul Henry Ramirez, on  8 September.

Half the artists that Richard shows in Paris are American, including Adam Ross, David Ryan and Joseph Nechvatal. The gallerist will continue to show them in New York. I pointed out that these are not rosy times for start-ups.

"I agree with you," he said. "I studied  economics at university." But it's not about short-term economics. It's about life. I live in New York now." The Paris gallery will be run by Richard's wife, Takako Richard.

interview in L’Atelier, no. 1/89, January/February 1989, p.21

Businessman, entrepreneur, and gallerist Jean-Luc Richard has plunged into the art gallery business alongside Takako Hayakawa. He’s convinced that technology is the tool of a creative revival of art.

JLR: I specialized in art and technology by coincidence. That which interests me above all is the quality of the artists, regardless of what medium they work in. I’ve spent more than a year looking for artists and I was very disappointed by what I saw in today’s painting and sculpture. It seems that the majority of artists today work with “electronic arts.” I take into consideration the artist first before his technique and I don’t limit myself to any one particular style or movement. There have been several major turning points in the art history timeline where artistic revolution occurred thanks to new developments in material and techniques. The Renaissance and oil paint, the Impressionist and the paint tube, Pop Art and acrylic paint are just a few examples. All these revolutions generated new forms and visual interpretation. Some artists today are also inspired to re-envision their work and how they work, but it is not so much about just finding a new means of expression as it is about exploring the full potential of “electronic arts.” Of course this could invite negative behaviours. These novelty techniques could open up to the public, such as the engineers or technicians who fancy themselves qualified artists based on their technical merits, or the publicists and designers who do personal work without investing whole-heartedly and globally like the traditional artist.

Does your choice of artists reflect a response to the end of Figuration Libre?

JLR: I love the concept of representing a school or artists, like Castelli with Pop Art. Unfortunately, I feel that most of the responses to modernity are scattered and individualistic. Those that have commonalities share a certain radicalism in their art; they revert to the idea of valuing only the essential. These are works that touch on moralism and are at the same time, political. All artists aspire to return to their studios, cut off from the world in way that allows them reveal in themselves something else besides an expression of superficiality.

How are you financing the gallery?

My partner Takako Hayakawa has had valuable marketing experience in Japanese multinational companies. We have pooled all our resources into this project, but it is not sufficient. We purchase all the art that is exhibited in the gallery. Because of that, we take on a huge risk. We propose to collectors to become members and patrons of our gallery, giving them privileges such as discounts and catalogues, etc.

How do you envision selling “electronic arts”?
JLR: It’s a big dilemma for the artists themselves. An image on a computer screen is richer and more appealing than if it were reproduced by other means. It’s up to the artist to decide and choose the means of reproduction to best express himself.

But what if they choose a postcard? How do you plan to breakeven?

JLR: Regarding artworks, I expect the quality to be perfect. The image on the screen might translate well when printed in high resolution. One might even transfer an image on a plastic surface and illuminate it from behind, like Pascal Schmitt is currently exploring. Technology is going to evolve very quickly, starting with photography, which is the preferred medium at the moment. The artist might conjure up a serigraph, superimposing painting and photography into the work. The challenge for some artists is giving texture to the surface. In terms of quantity, works could exist as unique pieces or in limited editions.

What are you predictions for the market in the long-term?

I’m not intimidated by the market. I have a degree in economics and I have had professional experience in the stock market, so I know how the art market works. My biggest concern is trying to limit a sudden inflation of prices so that the prices of the artworks can increase gradually. Even if there is a high demand, people will rather be on a waiting list instead of the price doubling from one day to another.

How do you discover artists?

JLR: There isn’t that much information about digital artists. The only magazines that explore them in depth are very recent publications. I also attended festivals such as Parigraph and Le Festival de Rennes. I discovered Artus Pixel through your publication.

At the same time, you are quite isolated from the mainstream art sector…
JLR: The fact that I’ve received good reception proves that I am the only one in a niche digital arts sector in France. But all the signs show that the field of “electronic arts” will develop further:

-       Nam June Paik, star of FIAC

-       Techno-arts festivals multiplying

-       Coverage and sales of specialized publications exceeding predictions and expectations.

What is the ideal medium for your collectors?

JLR: Everybody will have a screen, they can buy a CD and enjoy works of art on his or her computer. By the way, Philippe Jeantet, one of our artists, is the first to sell a disk of his electronic art at auction as an artwork.

"This guy, Jean-Luc Richard is the most adventurous and courageous art dealer in Paris. There is no question about that".

"If you want to see the best emerging artist, GalerieJean-Luc & Takako Richard is the place where to go".

The Art Collector Hubert Neumann interviewed by Valérie Duponchelle, journalist in Le Figaro, on Monday 19 October 2010 at  Galerie Jean-Luc & Takako Richard

(text published in ARTEXIT, September 2008, Vol.5, p.170)

Since it arrived in the Marais in 2006, Galerie Jean-Luc & Takako Richard has become one of the most renowned and most visited galleries in Paris. The only Parisian gallery to have two entrances, Rue de Turenne and Rue Impasse Saint-Claude, it is one of the most impressive exhibition spaces consisting of four parallel rooms. Jean-Luc and Takako began wth a small gallery space in the Bastille area in 1989. They have always had a very international programme only exhibiting a few selected French artists and largely due to this have been supported by an equally international public. They were the first gallery to exhibit Choi Jeong Hwa and have also represented Bae Bien-U. The gallery moved to Ile Saint-Louis in 2002 until 2005 where it amassed a largely American international clientèle. It was in 1997 that Jean-Luc Richard detected the New York and the American West Coast return to painting and consequently took the decision to base his programme primarily on different types of the 21st century painting revival, both  abstract and figurative. It is also the first European gallery to have discovered many young painters from Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York such as Paul Henry Ramirez, Beverly Fishman, Benjamin Edwards, Adam Ross, Yek, Tim Bavington, Carl Fudge, David Ryan...

True to its commitments, the gallery has represented, the French and German artists, Christophe Avella-Bagur and Stefan Hoenerloh respectively since the early stages of their careers. The gallery presents Japanese artists such as Kiyoshi Nakagami , Yuichi Higashionna and Risa Sato to the Europe art scene. With a coherent and personal programme the gallery is grounded in mutual loyalty with French, American, European and Asian collectors.