About us

Normandy is where Daphné Mallet was born and grew up, in Varengeville sur mer, a village on the cliffs of the Alabaster coast. Throughout her childhood, she was immersed in those landscapes, colours, lights and contrasts which have attracted many great artists.  
 
Her Sinology studies took her far from her native land, to China, where she lived for 12 years. During these twelve years, she started working in a famous contemporary art gallery that exhibited Chinese and international artists. Based on this experience, she decided to open her own gallery in Beijing: Jiali Gallery, which she set up at home 
(Jiali means “at home” in Chinese). 

From 2012 to 2017 she organised more than twenty exhibitions, both inside and outside the gallery. Working in collaboration with about twenty Chinese and foreign artists, they developed the exhibition programme together, often specially designed for the gallery. The geographical location of the gallery, in the heart of the city, allowed a very broad public to discover the work of the artists and to meet them either during the private views or closing ceremonies, or during moments specially dedicated to meeting the public. 
 
Apart from the quality of the exhibitions presented, it is these many wonderful encounters between artists and the public that created the success and reputation of the gallery. It is in order to continue this experience that she would like to create a new venue here in Normandy, to bring about new encounters between artists, our region and the public.