PETER DOHERTY EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS AT "LE RURAL" GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, March 6th 2014

I eventually met up with Peter on the Saturday morning and recccomended to him that we call in at the exhibition to make apologies and say hello to Thierry and France at 'Le Rural" 5 miles outside the city, It was a debut show for the beautifully appointed chalet lined in concrete and polished steel at what appeared to be the Lombard family compound. 

France Lombard-Beche hosted and curated the show. The cream of the Swiss and French television, cultural editors and journalists were all awaiting Peter's arrival at 4pm. We received a text announcing that he would arrive at the 'vernisage' and warm reception by no later than 9.30. The wine and canapés were generous and fabulous - little tastes of heaven - The French band SPARKS valiantly played their set THREE times over to keep everyone happy and entertained. 

Our hostess was gracious but clearly hurt and upset at the apparent snub from Peter towards whom so much generosity and warmth had been offered... the assembled guests mainly millionaires economically, in talent or personality anxiously awaited the poet turned musician turned artist to honour and embrace. 

By 12.30 he called to say he was ready to come but the event was exhausted on its feet. France Lombard-Beche had presented Peter's paintings beautifully around the ground and first floors, she is a beautiful, warm cultured Patronness of the Arts with a special regard and respect for Peter and his delay by customs for over two hours ruined what should have been a perfect evening. 

The Swiss go to bed early. We all went to our respective hotels and I got stuck into my mini-bar and Fench soap-operas before passing out into an only bearably less miserable nightmare. I dreamt that Peter was fixing up and piping in room 512 3 floors above me 30 hours later I had 2 hours before my flight I decided to try knocking on his door so rode up in the lift - this was around 7am on the Saturday morning, a fresh pale blue swiss enchantment. As the lift door opened on floor 5 Peter stood hair horribly cropped(by himself on a bad brain day) in front of me a smile spreading across his fat and sweaty jowls, his poached-egg spaniels eyes glistened with kindliness and his scarred and abscessed arms widened to embrace me. we hugged, we scored, we filmed 2 youtube clips we drank champagne, I cancelled my flight, we drove to the Rural Gallery and Peter Apologised to France and Thierry. He carried into their house a large rolled canvas with a drawing of me on it 9 I glow with pride) and a blank canvas which he began to draw and paint on as a personal gift instant painting. Our hosts forced into receiving our invasion at some ungodly early hour were kindness and consideration exemplified I don't know how Geraldine Beigbeder dared show her face. She had presided over a disaster and it was only my insistence and Peter's good naturedness and charm which retrieved a little, very small compensation. The couple were delighted that he had finally made an appearence albeit 2 days late. He was apparently unaware how insulting and dismaying his absence from the opening had been. and Peter signed all of the paintings there. Peter chatted with Thierry and France Lombard for an hour and presented them with the painting he had made. 

Then he asked me to steal a spoon so I stole Mme Lombard's disposable lighter so he could wash up some coke sitting in the front seat of the car with the door open, visible to all …. I had time to show The Gallerists details of New York/U.K. artist Peter Gee and Thierry photocopied the sheets then as we were driving away his charming and beautiful wife ran out of the house wavin the Peter Gee papers she was pointing at "The TargetMan" title and smiling … I said yes that's him, maybe for your next exhibition ! 

with his minder Nasser and film-maker Katia Davidas we drove that sparkling morning around the forecourt 3 times then out of the Lombard compound through the Alps and North up France until Paris on a car-packed Saturday evening.

 we were stuck in a jam so Peter bravely jumpede out and ran to meet his waiting dealer, we passed by his flat to photograph paintings then drove to Etretat in Normandy til the next day after a dish of 'fruitsdemer' we headed for the Eurostar all the way convincing Peter that people were looking forwqard to this gig and despite his total antipathy to the idea he had TO PLAY HIS GIG. SIPPING CHAMPAGNE WE RODE THE TRAIN TO GOOD OL' BRITAIN. Not quite true actually as only 2 tickets allowed for business class comfort and perks so I agreed to swap seats allowing Peter to sit with his partner and I'm obviously been spoiled by one glimpse into monied luxury. Down the proletarian, budget end of the train the atmosphere seemed thickly polluted the passengers crammed too closely for decency. Shouted "They've packed them in like pigs " was not appreciated as the humour I intended and I meekly squeezed into my seat unresponsive unrepentant.
I joined Cristina Massei of Sonic Shocks at the Roundhouse and noticed with dismay that a police drug-sniffer dog was positioned immediately inside the entrance to the venue.Our world-beating musical heritage would have never flourished with such draconian measures - - Who I wonder took the weight of such a decision setting our Albion some further distance away from Arcady…. an unhappily underlined irony in such an event, circumstance, occasion.

PETER DOHERTY - Exhibition at L'espace Djam and Geraldine's BIG IDEA

Geraldine Beigbeder's BIG IDEA ...


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Elizabeth Reynard and Geraldine Beigbeder at the Hawley Arms, Camden Town

East End street art attracts international visitors and admiration

I was approached in London during July 2013 by Geraldine Beigbeder and her friend Elizabeth Reynard. Geraldine is famous in France as a writer on cultural affairs and her good friend Elizabeth has written around 18 biographies of well-known celebrities - most recently her book about Celine Dion was published and she was with Geraldine in London on her way to seek the rights to be biographer of Serena Williams, tennis champion. I was a little nonplussed to be approached by two eminent and celebrated Frenchwomen however Geraldine soon impressed me with her direct insightful approach so I was flattered to play host to both ladies - I rearranged photographs, paintings and drawings around the room I also tidied up the bookshelves full of manuscripts and chose two bottles of tolerable red wine with a choice of Ginseng, Ginger, Mint and Indian black teas to have on offer.
Geraldine is not published in English but she impressed me with her private text messages about how energy can flow between men and women; she told me that her book reviews our current cultural climate she perceives our young artists as nostalgic for the Beats and struggling in an attempt to mould this current age into their own form.
The Beigbeder family have property in Belgrade and seem to represent old cultural values now rising from the ashes of the former communist state. Frederick Beigbeder is a cousin and already well known in media and journalist circles across Europe. She is clearly a dynamic negotiator and visionary with a disciplined approach to her work, her range of contacts in the various arts is vast and spans all Europe and includes America with former president Adams an ancestor, she has membership of The Daughters of The Revolution, Her back ground includes an education in France, The Sorbonne and a spell writing scripts for T.V. She has a flat in St Germaine and loves to spend time on the Atlantic coast in the South-West. I was curious to know the purpose of this visit.
Our meeting went well and the next six days were spent introducing the two Frenchwomen to my artist contacts around London.

Writer and art curator Geraldine Beigbeder in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Geraldine it transpired had a big idea she wanted to utilise her extensive network of powerful connections to establish Peter Doherty as a world class artist and to that end she proposed an ititial exhibition at the gallery in north east Paris of an old school-friend, Djamilla. This first exhibition would be succeeded by others all the way to a triumphal show in New York art capital of the world. Notwithstanding steps already taken with that end in view I embraced the concept and the passion with which the French cultural pundit espoused it. As evidence of her sincerity she withdrew a wallet from her leather bag and from it produced six fifty euro notes with which to purchase a small drawing by Peter Doherty executed on A4 copier paper in grey and pink felt-tip pen entitled "Three figures".
The bottle of wine now exhausted and myself with it at the turn events had taken I bid the ladies farewell for the day and we voted to meet up on the following day when we would continue our exhillerating conversation.

Geraldine Beigbeder and Elizabeth Reynaud in London,  July 2013

Stephane Rayner creator of the BOY brand and BOY LONDON from his shop ACME ATTRACTIONS.

SYNTHETIC CULTURE …. Post-war Britain … from the art colleges and Carnbaby street there developed amongst Britain's youth an extraordinary hybrid of Media, Fashion and Pharmaceuticals.

 In the mid 60s the mod generation began to be THE significant cultural phenomenum. Stephane Rayner was a mod from Leicester whose career began with a late 20th Century 'Purple gang'.

As part of a firm he drove down to Soho on Wednesday and Thursday nights delivering Duraphet - - Speed, legendary Black Bombers with a time release effect that surged gently throughout a whole weekend keeping you going from Friday night into work on Monday morning without a nod or a wink  Cans of 1,000 yellow dexidrine, batches of Frenche Blues, the delicious Purple Hearts … frolm these beginnings

Stephane Rayner began the  BOY label at his shop "Acme Attractions" on the Kings Road in the late 70s.

Film maker, musician and cultural imagineer Don Letts was there in the Kings Road establishment as was Jeanette Lee who went on to become an partner in ROUGH TRADE. 

Stephane Rayner in Redchurch st E1

portrait of the man behind BOY by ©2014 Paul Roundhill