Gildas Le Reste was born in Quimper in 1960.
Graduated from the École des Beaux-arts in Tours. He lives and works in Paris.

For nearly 40 years he managed the École d’arts plastiques in Châtellerault where he was the first director. He also worked on making it an art library with a collection of nearly 2,000 works, in
particular thanks to the publication of numerous engravings. He installed Picasso’s test press from Piero Crommelynck’s studio, a gift from his widow, Landa.

The venue also became a Contemporary Art Centre and for exhibitions, residencies and  in situ creation, Gildas Le Reste invited the big names in contemporary art including but not limited to Jean-Michel Alberola, Jean-Charles Blais, Hervé Di Rosa, Christian Jaccard, Ivan Messac, Françoise Petrovitch, Jean-Pierre Pincemin, Antonio Segui, David Tremlett, Jean-Luc Vilmouth and Jacques Villéglé.

Gildas Le Reste is a painter, draughtsman—a ballpoint pen is his favourite medium—and engraver. He has work with  Les éditions Pasnic for many years. He founded GLR Éditions, a small publisher where he regularly publishes books of interviews with artists.
He was a resident at the Villa Medicis in 1992-1993.

His exhibitions have included :

2022 - Dunkerque galerie (catalogue avec des textes de Nicolas Declercque et Christian Garcelon)
2018 - Galerie Susse, Palais Royal (avec Jacques Villeglé, livret texte de Jacques Guimet)
2016 - Galerie Herzog, Paris (livret avec un texte d’Alberto Manguel)
2015 - Galerie Louise Michel, Poitiers (catalogue texte de François Bon)
2012 - Centre d’art contemporain de Thouars (catalogue texte de Marion Daniel)
2000 - Château de Tours (texte de Pierre Watt)
1993 - Galerie Alain Venstein, Paris (livret avec texte d’Alain Bonfand)
1993 - Villa Médicis, Rome (texte d’Olivier Kaeppelin)
1990 - Centre d’art contemporain d’Orléans (texte d’Alain Bonfand)
1989 - FRAC Poitou Charentes, Angoulême (catalogue texte Bernard Lamarche Vadel)