Philippe Ramette

Philippe Ramette, born in 1961 in Auxerre, is a French visual artist whose practice ranges from photography to sculpture, installation and drawing. He lives and works in Paris.
Philippe Ramette was introduced to sculpture at the Villa Arson in Nice (1987-1989). There, he produced surrealist-inspired works, prepared by elaborate sketching, in materials such as wood, leather, copper and brass. His first sculptures are given complex, coldly humorous, often coercive titles, in reference to the utopias of 19th-century inventors: Socle à réflexion (1989), Objets à se faire fououdroyer (1991), Potence préventive pour dictateur potentiel (1993), Prison portable and Potence domestique (1994)...
Later, his sculptures will feature characters (Éloge de la discrétion, 2012, Éloge du pas de côté, 2018, Éloge de la transgression, 2018).

At the same time, it was his photographs, which transposed the humor and strangeness of his sculptures into images, that brought him great visibility. The artist - who stages herself - creates acrobatic performances without trickery or digital retouching, between sky and earth, on the edge of emptiness, which pleasantly deceive the eye and function as an enigma to be solved.

In 2020/2021, in response to the MiniMasterpiece gallery 's invitation to design a sculpture-to-wear, Philippe Ramette developed the Bague pour toujours prendre la bonne direction. This piece is in total continuity with the rest of his work.