Pivoting from physics and tech strategy to art, Kevin Troyano Cuturi expands his Singapore gallery internationally by opening a location in the historic Palais-Royal in Paris.
Cuturi Gallery Paris is located in the Palais-Royal district.Photo: Studio Vanssay
Kevin Troyano Cuturi likes to say he was raised on museums. Born in the south of France in 1989 to a Spanish mother and Italian father, he grew up mostly in Marbella, Spain. He also spent a lot of his childhood shuttling between cultural capitals with his father Marco. They would visit Paris, Madrid, London, Rome, Florence, Venice, Vienna, and New York, all of which are artistic cities. As Cuturi recalls, “My very first museum experience was the Musée d’Orsay.”
Nevertheless, there was a ritual: “After each museum visit, my father would give me 10 euros ($14.80) to spend in the museum shop—back when postcards were one euro each. I had to choose my 10 favourite works and write an analysis on the back of each one. A child’s game, perhaps, but also an education in connoisseurship. In a sense, I built a little collection from every visit.”
In spite of his instinct for art, he pursued science. “I was fascinated by the universe and the origins of life,” he says, “which is ultimately why I chose to study physics.” After completing a four-year master’s degree at Imperial College London in 2011, he delved into finance before establishing the early-stage startups TripMinded and Contxt.
It was Amazon that brought him to Singapore. From that world, he retained one core principle: “A strong focus on customer experience.” Singapore was meant to be an adventure, but it quickly became home. It was here that Cuturi planted his flag when the time came to fully enter the art world, praising the warmth of the people, the efficiency of the city, the sense of safety, and the genuine spirit of entrepreneurship.
Art Galleries As Cultural Centres
At 16, Cuturi had begun collecting and purchasing limited-edition prints. “Buying a work of art for the first time was an incredibly rewarding experience. It felt like I had brought a small piece of culture into my life.”
He soon wanted to do more. “Over time, I became deeply passionate about certain artists I was collecting, and I began to feel I could genuinely contribute to their careers,” he says. “A gallery felt like the most meaningful way to do that.”
Cuturi co-founded Mazel Gallery in Singapore in 2017 and ran it while working as a delivery manager at Amazon for a year. As he had no prior experience in running an art gallery, including curation, scenography, picking the right artists for collaborations, or understanding the tastes of Singaporean audiences, it proved to be “an invaluable, if humbling, education”.
In a pivotal move, Mazel Gallery became Cuturi Gallery with a far more focused mission in 2019. “I often say that a gallery is not simply a retail space selling luxury assets. We sustain ourselves through commercial activity, but the heart of what we do is something different. It is about fostering an appreciation for culture.”
In Cuturi’s view, a gallery fosters an appreciation for culture.Photo: Cuturi Gallery
Cuturi Gallery became more than a white cube under his direction. Its discoveries platform incubates young graduates and under-represented talents free from commercial pressure, while its residency programme has hosted more than 20 artists.
Additionally, it has helped grow the careers of Singaporean artists Aisha Rosli, Faris Heizer, Khairulddin Wahab, and Israfil Ridhwan. His stance on Singapore is pragmatic. It will take time for the local collecting culture to develop, he says. “That kind of relationship with art takes time, but the fundamentals are in place. Singapore already has a strong cultural infrastructure.”
Cuturi’s role as a gallerist is expansive. “We are cultural centres—places where visitors can encounter art, sit with it, be challenged by it, or be moved by it. “The task is to create the conditions in which that connection can occur: to support artists with conviction, to bring their work to new audiences, and to invest in their long-term careers rather than simply their next sale.”
Trajectory, Reversed
Cuturi has brought that same philosophy back to Europe. Amidst an art gallery movement that has moved outwards from the West to the East, his strategy runs counter-current. On 19 March this year, he opened Cuturi Gallery’s second space in the Palais-Royal district at 24 Galerie de Montpensier.
“I have always thought of Paris as the true capital of culture,” he shares. “The address, formerly Didier Ludot’s vintage haute couture boutique, sealed the decision. I have always had a deep affection for the Palais-Royal, and when the opportunity arose to take a space there, I took it. The moment was right.”
“I have always thought of Paris as the true capital of culture,” he shares. “The address, formerly Didier Ludot’s vintage haute couture boutique, sealed the decision. I have always had a deep affection for the Palais-Royal, and when the opportunity arose to take a space there, I took it. The moment was right.”
“Galleries are cultural centres where visitors can encounter art, sit with it, be challenged by it, or be moved by it.”
Mahalakshmi Kannappan, ‘After the Weight Passed’, 2026; charcoal on wood, 72cm x 85cm x 8cm.Photo: Studio Vanssay
The gallery is intimate by design, which is perfect for Cuturi’s sharp, singular curatorial projects. Resisting over-design, he believes that the architecture speaks for itself. Beyond the doors, “the magic happens outside—in the arcades, among the columns.”
As the capital of the art world, Paris is saturated with galleries. How does Cuturi Gallery plan to stand out? “We operate at the intersection of Southeast Asia and Europe. It is not widely represented in Paris.” Limiting the programme to four tightly curated exhibitions each year allows him to stay focused and hands-on, cultivating what he describes as a core pillar of any successful gallery: trusting relationships with audiences.
Cuturi Gallery aims to “support artists with conviction”.Photo: Studio Vanssay
London Calling
On show from now until 16 May 2026, the inaugural exhibition at Cuturi Gallery Paris —“Decadence and Decay”—was curated by Singaporean Deborah Lim and probes beauty at the point of collapse. It showcases Southeast Asian artists such as Jane Lee, Khairulddin Wahab, and Sookoon Ang, as well as European artists like Iris van Herpen, Hubert Le Gall, and Lionel Sabatté.
The theme, Cuturi explains, stems from how Asians perceive the world. “Unlike many Western frameworks, which tend to treat life and death as opposites, much of Asian thought sees them as part of a continuous cycle.”
Choosing Lim for the opening was deliberate: “Cuturi is a Singaporean gallery, and I wanted that identity to come through when we opened our doors.” Five to 10 years down the road, Cuturi sees a constellation rather than an empire. “Our vision is to be present in the cities where we have genuine roots and meaningful connections,” he concludes. “London will be the next chapter.”
There will be a permanent gallery space there by the third quarter of this year. Irrespective of location, his aim remains clear and constant: to champion cultural appreciation, enable the artists he works with to build successful careers, and to inspire the audiences that encounter their work.