Philippe Ramette

Philippe Ramette, born in 1961 in Auxerre, is a French visual artist whose works embrace multiple forms from photography to sculpture, including installation and drawing. He lives and works in Paris.
It was upon joining the Villa Arson in Nice (1987-1989) that Philippe Ramette was introduced to sculpture. There he produced surrealist-inspired works, based on detailed preparatory sketches, and made with such materials as wood, leather, copper and brass. His early sculptures were given complex, often insistent and dryly humorous titles that suggest reference to the utopias of nineteenth century inventors: Socle à Réflexion [Reflection Base] (1989), Objets à se faire foudroyer [Objects to be Struck Down] (1991), Potence préventive pour dictateur potentiel [Precautionary Gallows for Potential Dictator] ( 1993), Prison portable et Potence domestique [Portable Prison and Domestic Gallows] (1994), etc. His more recent sculptures feature posed representations of human figures: Éloge de la discrétion [In Praise of Discretion] (2012), Éloge du pas de côté [In Praise of the Side Step] (2018), Éloge de la transgression [In Praise of Transgression] (2018).
Created in parallel, it is his photographs, conveying the humour and strangeness of his sculptures in the form of images, which have brought him great visibility. The artist, using himself as model, accomplishes acrobatic performances without resorting to any special effects or digital retouching, poised between sky and earth, on the brink of the void, giving rise to a pleasant disturbance of visual perception in a way that functions like an enigma to be solved.
Philippe Ramette has exhibited in many museums and galleries around the world, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris, Museum of Art and History and Mamco in Geneva, Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales de Montevideo in Uruguay, SMAK Museum in Ghent, Sandretto Foundation in Turin, Art Centre in Edinburgh, Museum auf Abruf in Vienna, Moscow House of Photography, Pera Museum in Istanbul, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Toronto Photography Festival, Aichi Triennale in Nagoya, Watari Museum and Mori Art Museum in Tokyo.
In 2020/2021, having been invited by the MiniMasterpiece gallery to design a sculpture-to-wear, Philippe Ramette has developed the Bague pour toujours prendre la bonne direction (Ring for always taking the right direction). This piece is entirely in the vein of all of his work to date.

Ring
Sterling silver
Edition of 8
2021

Ring
18k yellow gold
Edition of 8
2021