The gallery was founded by Daniel Templon in 1966 rue Bonaparte in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. First opened under the name of Cimaise-Bonaparte in the cellar of an antique dealer, the gallery quickly moved upstairs, before moving in 1972 to the Marais, rue Beaubourg, a few meters from the future Pompidou Centre. Today the gallery counts two locations in the Beaubourg area in Paris, one in Brussels and one in Chelsea, New York.
The gallery first became known for its program around conceptual and minimal art with artists such as Donald Judd, Joseph Kosuth or Richard Serra. Since the 1970s, the gallery has introduced the French public to the great names of American art: Dan Flavin, Ellsworth Kelly, Willem de Kooning, Frank Stella and Andy Warhol. It quickly established itself as one of the reference galleries in the promotion of contemporary art in France.
Many of the artists, who have now gone down in history, have exhibited on the walls of the gallery. It quickly established itself as one of the reference galleries in the promotion of contemporary art in France.
Today, the gallery represents forty international artists and artist’s estates. Its program seeks to promote a dialogue between different generations: established artists of "classical" contemporary art, mid-career international artists, and the experiences of young artists.