Spreading visions of the Burren far afield

Galerie Pomie, in a sleepy French village, has become a meeting point for Irish ex-pats. Small wonder when its current exhibition is called An Bhoireann, writes Brian O'Connell

Maison Chambon is a typically refurbished 19th-century home adjacent to the village of Pomie in southern France. Within a stone's throw of the front door, the Dordogne river curls and stretches its way through the sleepy Lot valley, renowned for sites of archeological significance. Background music comes by way of the chirpy crickets and occasional purring Peugeot, as the villagers travel to the nearby medieval town of Martel to sell home-grown produce at the market.

The scene is about as French as it gets - so what on earth is an art gallery full of Burren artists doing in the midst of this idyllic rural retreat? For owners Keith and Miranda Payne, the question is not so much "pourquoi?", as "pourquoi pas?".

Both took the circuitous route to the art world via rock 'n' roll - him as a stage designer with some of the world's largest rock bands, and her as assistant to rock icons such as Mick Jagger. Having lived on the Burren for almost two decades, the Paynes decided they needed a change of scenery, and opted to relocate to France. A well-renowned painter and sculptor, Keith had always intended constructing a studio for himself on the grounds of their French pile, yet when a disused two-storey barn came with their purchase, an art gallery seemed the obvious choice.

Next step was to assemble a collection of artists inspired by the Burren, invite them over for a three-day opening, drink the local town dry and try to sell the odd painting. A lot like home, really.

For the local villagers, having an art gallery in their midst was something of a novelty at first. Many had never been inside a gallery, not to mind purchase a picture. Yet they didn't take long to adjust, and now the entire village turns out for exhibitions, happy to discuss the merits of individual works, even if their cheque books remain at home.

Among the sizeable ex-pat community in the area, the gallery has become something of a meeting point, where contacts are made and friendship forged. In a short space of time, Galerie Pomie has made its mark, and the current exhibition is proving its most popular.

Spread out over two rooms, the exhibition entitled An Bhoireann houses work from artists such as Manus Walsh, Sabrine Springer, Timothy Emlyn Jones, Judy O'Sullivan and Denise Ryan, incorporating an engaging mix of sculpture, landscape and drawing. Sales have been steady, and with the tourist season about to get into full swing, the Paynes are optimistic. Commerce is not their raison d'être though, as Keith explains.

"The relocation here has always been in our mind. We've been here many times over the years and I always felt it would be nice to be able to grow melons somewhere! My interest in art has been there since I was a child; I was painting and drawing ever since I can remember. My mum died and left me a little bit of money. I saw this wonderful barn and decided on a studio upstairs. Then it was case of what to do downstairs and art became the game really. It's worked out pretty well - it's kind of slow - but in five or six years' time we will be able to judge how successful it has been."

A big coup for the Paynes was persuading the local mayor to attend their current opening, given that he had steadfastly refused to enter the gallery on previous occasions.

"Generally the French are very friendly," says Keith, "and in many ways it's a lot like living in Ireland; the only difference is that I could understand what people were saying in Ireland! The people are slowly opening up to us, though. We had invited the local mayor to two previous opening and he said non, explaining that he was a farmer and a countryman and had never been in an art gallery in his life. But last week, much to everyone's amazement, he showed up with his wife. He seemed to like the work, stayed for a glass of wine and then said au revoir!"

Payne's own work is very much influenced by pre-history, and with some of the world's most important Neolithic sites on his doorstep, his creative output has taken on a new vitality in the past 18 months.

He currently exhibits at the prestigious Jays Gallery in Paris, and eventually hopes to establish links with some of the larger galleries in the region. He realises it will take time to develop an art-buying culture in the area, yet the steady flow of visitors should help keep things ticking over.

For now, Payne is just content to have found a quiet, engaging landscape in which to work.

"I've always had an interest in ancient history. I tend to have this ability to dream the oldest people in a place I'm in. I guess it comes from spending a lot of time visiting ancient sites around the world and you start to get an imagery of past people. I'm also interested in visual language - signs, symbols, etc - and how that has evolved.

"The locals here are very conscious of the history of the area, so in that sense the Irish exhibition has gone down really well. Everyone loves it, but getting them to buy things is a bit different. French people like the mystery of what Ireland represents, and there is also the strong Celtic association here, of course. At the moment most of the pictures are sold to 'blow-ins', such as Dutch, German and Swiss. There is a new airport being built down the road in Brive, so that may bring more people to the area in time."

Already, the surrounding area is becoming a haven for artistic types, attracted to the cheap cost of living and relative ease in acquiring studio and exhibition space.

HALF AN HOUR from Galerie Pomie, ex-New York Times journalist Gary Ossis has decided to transform a town corner into a thriving contemporary gallery. A first-time gallery owner, Ossis has been using his contacts in the media world to attract renowned European artists to his building, and like the Paynes, the response from the local community has been overwhelmingly positive.

"I realised that really there was no good place to show contemporary art in the region," he says, "so I talked to some artist friends and everyone was very enthusiastic about a space here. I went and bought a little place and opened up last August. We have had a great response from the community and also local government. They all seem delighted that we're here. We have wonderful turnouts at openings, from 150-200 people. We're now entering our third opening this year, and the first two shows were very well attended and generated great sales."

For Ossis, the opening of a new gallery down the road in Pomie is seen as a positive development, and has sparked his interest in Irish artists he had little knowledge of previously.

"The opening of Keith and Miranda's gallery is a great addition to the area. I think there's room for plenty of galleries here, and it's not like it's across the square. It has also opened up the work of many Irish artists to me as an owner, the majority of whom I had never seen before. There's some great work in the exhibition and I think the theme fits the local area well. I'm hoping we can work on mutual agreement to exchange artists. We're doing it with a large gallery in Paris at present, so we're not unused to that type of collaboration. It's just great to see an artistic community beginning to take root, and the thing with France is that you can go do stuff like this relatively easily."

Back at chez Payne, the Burren exhibition runs for the rest of the summer, after which the Paynes intend to continue with the Celtic theme and host an exhibition of artists from either Wales or Brittany. The melons are nearly ripe in the garden, and the adjacent swimming pool is helping ward off the summer sun. It's not a bad old life really.

An Bhoireann is open Mon-Sun from 2-7pm at Galerie Pomie, Pomie, 46600 Baladou, France, until Sept 30. Accommodation and studio space is available to rent, see www.galeriepomie.com