My friend Ko Smith, an artist based in Paris, and I go back to our New York days. He recently connected me with his friend Chan Changhao, who I'm excited to introduce to the blog. Chan works as an Art Handler and Installer at Galerie Templon in Paris, and today he shares details about his work with me.
Chan and myself Victoria Miro Gallery to see the Alice Neel exhibition
Chan, tell me a bit about your background then?
I was born in Nanyang, a small city in central China (though it already has a population of over 5 million...) in an ordinary working-class family. I graduated from high school in 2010 and went to an art college in Shenyang, a major industrial city in northeastern China, where I completed my first bachelor’s degree in contemporary painting. At the end of 2014, I came to France and spent about a year in Paris, learning French, visiting museums, and exploring various art institutions. In 2018, I earned my second bachelor’s degree and, that same year, started studying art conservation and restoration in Avignon, in the south of France, until 2021.
During that time, I did a two-month artist residency in Japan, conducted long-term internships and research at the Collection Lambert contemporary art center in Avignon and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nice. At the end of 2020, I started working with a secondary market art dealer. During that period, I had the chance to handle artworks by many well-known artists and learn about their promotion, sales, and management until the end of 2022. That was pretty much my entry into the art market. My job at Templon followed from there.
Incredible. So you spent quite some time on your studies.
Yes, my studies took quite a long time, but during those years, I travelled extensively, completed internships, participated in residencies in Europe and Asia, and gained insight into art from many different perspectives. From studying 12th-century Roman church mural paintings to exploring the conservation theories of contemporary art, things just kept getting more and more fascinating.
Chan at work at Galerie Templon
Wow.
Yes, I think this constant exploration without boundaries eventually led me to try a new angle—not as an artist or researcher, but as someone who (it’s hard to find the right words here) takes art a bit less "seriously." I’m not saying art handlers don’t care about art, of course. But our daily as art handler and preparator, direct contact with artworks makes this job very unique. We don’t just see art as objects of prestige or worship; we also approach it in terms of its materiality—its "thingness."
“Thingness”?
Yes, this materiality is often overshadowed by the appearance, concept, or meaning that artists and researchers assign to it. This "thingness" can evoke a wide range of emotions—often curiosity and joy. I guess this perspective, which came from my studies, books, and experiences, naturally led me to the job I have today.
Prune Nourry’s current show after installation at Galerie Templon
Very interesting. Ok and tell me a bit about Galerie Templon then?
At Templon, I mostly work with paintings, so the materials and techniques tend to be quite similar. As long as I follow industry standards and stay cautious, I can handle most situations. Of course, every artwork is unique, but we usually classify and analyse them based on their general type when it comes to handling. And when we do encounter more complex pieces, the artist or their assistant is often there to guide us.
A lot of times, our job is not so much about the artwork itself but about solving the challenges that come with it. For example, how do you safely hang a 200kg, electrically powered installation on a wall? We have to consider the safety of the artwork, the wall, and the people involved, all while figuring out how to hide the cables in the most aesthetically pleasing—or least visible—way. Or, if a piece emits its own light, how do we design the lighting around it to best enhance its effect?
What’s the most satisfying or enjoyable part of the job for you?
Sometimes, our job feels like solving a puzzle or conducting an investigation—taking what seems like a chaotic mess and turning it into a well-organised mechanical operation. For example, in a gallery with very limited space, how do you manoeuvre twenty 2m x 3m, 80kg crates? How do you organise their movement and installation sequence so that everything gets done efficiently while leaving enough space to work? The satisfaction of this job isn’t just about the artwork itself but also about seeing all the logistical chaos gradually fall into place—like fog lifting under the sun.
Installing Prune Nourry’s current show at Galerie Templon
Overall, the nature of this work, and the way we experience it, is very different from that of artists. As Art Handlers, the first thing we perceive about a piece is its physicality. The rarity, fragility, and high value of the artwork are immediate reminders that, first and foremost, it is an object. This becomes even more evident when working in museums, the art market, or galleries. For example, when I worked at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nice, I had the chance to handle multiple pieces from Yves Klein’s iconic Klein Blue series. The moment I touched them, my first thought wasn’t about their artistic significance—it was how do I pick this up and install it as safely as possible?
Haha. Gosh that’s so incredible though! An Yves Klein work! I imagine you must get a lot of joy from working with incredible artists like Klein too?
Honestly, it really depends.
Haha oh?
Well, ok, so a super friendly and cheerful artist might have no clue about their own exhibition—maybe they don’t even know how many pieces they have on display or their approximate dimensions. That’s exactly the kind of situation we don’t want to deal with. On the other hand, an artist who’s strict, grumpy, or even downright unpleasant might pull out a meticulously designed blueprint for their exhibition and insist on following it to the letter—which, ironically, makes our job way easier. So, whether an artist is “cool” or not doesn’t necessarily have much impact on our experience!
What is the team structure like?
The team at Templon is medium-sized compared to other galleries. The gallery itself represents a mix of French and international artists and holds a significant position in the French contemporary art scene.
Templon is in Le Marais right?
Yes, but we have four spaces in Paris, Brussels, and NYC. Which for me means lots of emails, shipments, and problem-solving scenarios.
One of Templon’s storage spaces mid-operation
Ahhh, so you must be busy having to traffic work around then.
Well the workload varies depending on the season. Some months, like October, March, and June (always around major art fairs like Art Basel), are insanely busy. A typical workday during these periods could involve running around non-stop—tracking down artworks, packing them, delivering them, installing them, or storing them in one of our three storage spaces. On quieter days, we focus on cleaning up the mess left by the busier times and taking care of the storage spaces and gallery areas.
What are some of the most challenging parts of the job?
Things rarely go as planned. Last-minute changes or decisions can disrupt an entire day’s work, requiring immediate reorganisation while keeping a cool head. This is especially true during preparations for art fairs.
Another challenge is dealing with how colleagues perceive, interact with, and treat art handlers and their work. Some are friendly, helpful, and proactive in making the work smoother; others, not so much. Unfortunately, art handlers are sometimes viewed as mere physical labourers, but more professionals in the field are working together to fight against this unfair treatment.
Sounds to me like there are a lot of parallels to the fashion industry. So how does a show come together at a gallery like Templon, in your eyes?
Creating an exhibition is entirely a team job. From the artist’s initial idea to the opening night, it involves thousands of emails and phone calls. Once the gallery and the artist agree on the concept for the show, my work begins. I calculate the materials, devices, and tools needed, and my logistics colleagues organise the transportation of the works to the gallery. From there, my team handles the packing, unpacking, installation, lighting and probably more… Meanwhile, the gallery owner and sales team finalise the opening date, invite clients and potential buyers, and handle other preparations.
Quite usually, the gallerist and the artist fight each other to make the best interest for themselves. Good sales and/or good art—it all depends on how the negotiation between the gallery owner and the artist plays out. Sometimes they manage to find a balance that keeps both sides happy, but other times neither is willing to compromise, leading to awkward situations where they avoid each other entirely (which has happened more than once at our gallery).
Of course, unexpected changes, technical issues, or shortages of materials can arise even on the night before the opening. That’s when the frantic running and yelling truly begin!
Chan installing Chiharu Shiota’s installation at Art Basel Unlimited 2024 in Switzerland
Haha it sounds really exciting but yes, a lot of hard work behind the scenes and a pinch of drama there. Can you tell me a bit about some of the exhibitions you’ve installed? Any other cool artists or works perhaps?
At Templon, the artists we work with are incredibly diverse, each with their own style. It’s hard to pick just one "amazing" piece. However, I have a great memory from June 2024 during Art Basel in Switzerland, when we worked on a giant installation for the Unlimited project. The artist was Chiharu Shiota, a famous Japanese artist known for her breathtaking installations made with red, white, and black fabric strings. The project involved seven of us (including two senior technicians from her studio in Berlin) and took three days to install. The installation measured 16 metres long and 9 meters high, entirely made of red fabric strings and white paper. Walking into it felt like entering a mind-blowing red forest.
In 2023, we worked on a smaller version of the same project at the gallery’s Paris space. Even though it was scaled down, it still captured the attention of the Parisian art world and thousands of visitors. There is currently an another big show of her work right now in the Grand Palais in Paris.
It’s really incredible. I bet it was amazing in the flesh.
Can you tell me a bit about the Parisian art world?
The first word that comes to mind is ‘small’. But this isn’t about physical size or resources—it’s more about close connections, a tight-knit community, and the uniquely ‘French’ way the industry operates. This is especially true in the art handling world. Many people in the field know each other, recommend one another for jobs, or share contacts. They might even invite each other out for drinks at a bar. It’s an industry with a slow-paced relationship-building style, where professional connections often take time to grow and evolve as people learn to work together.
Chan having a laugh here at Victoria Miro as I joke with him because he can’t help but assess the gallery’s lighting, structure, and the access routes.
The interaction between different positions tends to be less frequent than the interaction among people within the same role. Each position seems to have its own way of doing things—its own working methods, speaking style, and even dress code.
Personally, I find this dynamic somewhat similar to French society at large, where social classes are becoming increasingly rigid and divided. In art handling specifically, the work pace is often faster than in other roles. This probably doesn’t surprise you after reading my previous answers. It’s also closely tied to the overall environment of the Parisian art scene today.
The Paris art market from the second half of 2023 to the first half of 2024 went through a brutal winter. Galleries big and small faced tough times, with sales taking a noticeable hit. Of course, the top-tier galleries were much less affected, but overall, the market didn’t show signs of recovery until October 2024, after the Olympics, when Paris+ by Art Basel at the Grand Palais helped bring back some positive momentum.
Even so, I’ve recently heard that things have quieted down again. From a broader perspective, the Paris art scene remains unpredictable yet full of energy and potential. This dynamic ties closely to the public’s strong demand for art, the presence of numerous potential collectors with significant buying power, and the French government’s emphasis in recent years on promoting and exporting France’s brand image as a hub for art and culture.
Another factor, in my opinion, might be that the French gallery world is currently in a transitional phase. Some of the foundational figures—those legendary gallery owners—are well past retirement age but are still working on the front lines, relying on methods they’ve been using since their younger days. Meanwhile, the younger gallery owners are far more adaptable and open to change, often influenced by major British and American galleries. Galleries play a crucial role in shaping France’s art world, and where this path goes in the future remains to be seen.
Speaking of art handling, you can collect your own Courtney Bae artwork and have it carefully crated and shipped internationally.