Following a selection organized by the European contemporary art magazine Eighty, GRATALOUP was chosen to represent France in the international exhibition The Painters of Europe, presented at the historic Ancienne Douane in Strasbourg before embarking on a tour across several European countries.

This ambitious project brought together artists from sixteen nations and offered a broad panorama of European painting at the end of the 1980s. Conceived as a reflection on the diversity of artistic expression throughout Europe, the exhibition highlighted painters whose work embodied the vitality, originality, and renewal of contemporary painting across the continent.

GRATALOUP’s participation in this prestigious selection confirmed the growing recognition of his work on the international stage. His paintings, already distinguished by their symbolic dimension, explored the relationships between humanity, nature, and the invisible forces that shape the world. Independent of prevailing artistic trends, his work developed a highly personal visual language that combined material richness, imagination, and spiritual inquiry.

The Strasbourg exhibition marked an important milestone in the artist’s career. It positioned his work within a broader European dialogue and affirmed his place among the painters who contributed to redefining the possibilities of contemporary painting during a period of profound cultural and artistic transformation in Europe.