For several years, I had been looking for ways to showcase and disseminate Roger Dérieux’s paintings, of which I am the custodian. I am fortunate to have daily access to this sensitive and joyful work.

Living in Cahors, I took advantage of the days following the infamous confinement in May of last year, those wonderful spring days, to wander the alleys of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie. While I was enjoying the beauty of this village, which has attracted a number of great poets throughout the ages, I discovered this pretty stone house on Rue de la Fourdonne, where a discreet sign announced that the ground floor was for rent. The house itself, as well as its location at the corner of two alleys, seduced me. Its immediate proximity to the extraordinary Maison Daura, currently an international residence for artists, the presence of André Breton’s house at the foot of the village, and the nearby Musée Rignault completed my conviction.

I heard the words of the gallery owner Hubert Duchemin ringing in my ears, encouraging me to showcase the painter’s works. And so the decision was made. It took only a few days to arrange the space and hang paintings and collages on the walls, with the help of my faithful accomplice Nicole Détourbe.

This was the beginning of the present adventure, in which I have been joined by my daughters Amélie and Héloïse Vignals.

Béatrice Peyret-Vignals