Hervé Di Rosa (born 1959 in

Sète Sète (; , ), also historically spelled ''Cette'' (official until 1928) and ''Sette'', is a commune in the Hérault department, in the region of Occitania, southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sétois'' (male) and ''Sétoises'' (fem ...

Hérault Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...

) is a French

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

. Born in

, France, Hervé Di Rosa is a French painter who brings to life unique characters who populate his work in the form of paintings, sculptures, installations and animations. His style is similar to that of American artists Haring, Basquiat, Scharf and incorporates influences from

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

and comic books. Di Rosa is a key figure in the " Figuration Libre" movement of French painters. His work is often humorous and brash and shows his passion for

kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

or " Art Modeste." In 2000, Di Rosa built a Museum dedicated to Modest Art in

, France. In August 2006 he had a show of his work at the Bass Museum in Miami. He shows regularly with the Gallery Haim-Chanin in New York and Louis Carré et Cie. in Paris.

Controversy

In April 2019, controversy arose over a 1991 Di Rosa mural at the

French Parliament The French Parliament (, ) is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of the French Fifth Republic, consisting of the Senate (France), Senate (), and the National Assembly (France), National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessi ...

which features two stereotypical

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

figures. The mural, meant to commemorate the 1794 abolition of slavery in France, was characterized as humiliating and dehumanizing by Mame-Fatou Niang of

Carnegie Mellon Carnegie may refer to: People *Carnegie (surname), including a list of people with the name **Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist * Clan Carnegie, a lowland Scottish clan Institutions Named for Andrew Carnegie * ...

and the French author Julien Suaudeau who launched a petition calling for the mural's removal. The mural had come to Niang's attention when it was tweeted to her by a French schoolgirl. Di Rosa responded to the criticism saying “These two people allow themselves to accuse me of racism ndhave the nerve to act as spokespeople for the millions of victims f slaveryand want to censor the work,” and accepted no responsibility for any offense caused by the work nor acknowledged that it could even be honestly perceived as racist.

Selected exhibitions

* 1981 Eva Keppel Gallery, Düsseldorf, Swart Gallery, Amsterdam. - « Ateliers 81-82 » ARC, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. * 1982 New York, « Statements New York 82, Leading contemporary artists from France », Holly Solomon Gallery: first encounter with

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the Graffiti in New York City, New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual l ...

, Tseng Kwong Chi, Kenny Scharf, Nicolas Moufarrege. Gillespie-Laage-Salomon Gallery, Paris. * 1983 « Villa Medici hors les murs » PS1 New York. « Blanchard, Boisrond, Combas, Di Rosa », Groninger Museum, Groningen.

Barbara Gladstone Barbara Gladstone (née Levitt; May 21, 1935 – June 16, 2024) was an American art dealer and film producer. She was owner of Gladstone Gallery, a contemporary art gallery with locations in New York and Brussels. Background Barbara Levitt was ...

Gallery, New York. Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York. * 1995 Louis Stern Fine Arts, West Hollywood, and Galerie Louis Carré & Cie, Paris, ''Hervé di Rosa: Paintings and Works on Paper'', Absolut LA Invitational Biennial.

References

External links

Official Website

Figuration Libre France/USA

Musée International des Arts Modestes
1959 births Living people People from Sète Puppet designers Puppetry in France Neo-expressionist artists {{France-painter-20thC-stub