Hervé Di Rosa
Hervé Di Rosa was born in Sète, 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 and comic books. Di Rosa is a key figure in the "Figuration Libre" movement of French painters.
Also recorded as Hervé di Rosa · Herve di Rosa
Hervé Di Rosa

GualdimG · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Born
- 1959. · Sète.
- Nationality
- France.
- Movements
- Figuration Libre.
- Education
- École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs.
- Honours
- Officer of Arts and Letters.
- Languages
- French.
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Documentary summary
Hervé Di Rosa was born in Sète, 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 and comic books. Di Rosa is a key figure in the "Figuration Libre" movement of French painters.
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wikidata · Q3134479 · wikipedia · Hervé Di Rosa
In this article
Controversy
Controversy
His work is often humorous and brash and shows his passion for kitsch or "Art Modeste." In 2000, Di Rosa built a museum dedicated to Modest Art in Sète, 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.
Hervé Di Rosa studied at École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs. The recorded working language is French. Work by Hervé Di Rosa is recorded in the collections of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Musée d'art moderne de Paris, Groninger Museum and Liemers Museum. Distinctions recorded are Officer of Arts and Letters.
In April 2019, controversy arose over a 1991 Di Rosa mural at the French Parliament which features two stereotypical blackface 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 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 [and] have the nerve to act as spokespeople for the millions of victims [of slavery] and 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
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, 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 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.

"Archipelago Hervé Di Rosa, Obras do MIAM – Musée International des Arts Modestes", exposição no MAAT, em Lisboa.
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"Archipelago Hervé Di Rosa, Obras do MIAM – Musée International des Arts Modestes", exposição no MAAT, em Lisboa.
GualdimG
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1959
Hervé Di Rosa was born on 17 December 1959.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Hervé Di Rosa”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q3134479: Hervé Di Rosa
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Sansom, Anna. Petition launched to remove 'racist' anti-slavery fresco in France's National Assembly. theartnewspaper.com. The Art Newspaper.
- 2.Chrisafis, Angelique. Academics launch petition against 'racist' mural in French parliament. The Guardian. 12 April 2019.
- 3.Hervé di Rosa: Paintings and Works on Paper; with Galerie Louis Carré & Cie - Exhibitions - Louis Stern Fine Arts. www.louissternfinearts.com.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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