Philippe Katerine invades the ring road with his candy pink men. In Clichy and in the 17th arrondissement, the artist is the inventor of Mignonisme, an artistic current to put adorableness in everyday life. A total of nine statues have sprung up between the forecourt of the 17th arrondissement town hall and the courtyard of the Pavillon Vendôme, creating a promenade between Paris and its suburbs until September 17.
The pink mascots measure between 2.80 and 4.50 meters and weigh between 60 and 80 kilos. It was at the Bon Marché in Paris last year that Éric Lévy, founder of the RentingART agency and curator of the Invasion Périphérique course, discovered them. “It was there that I met Philippe Katerine and that I offered him an exhibition in the public space, making it possible to create a bridge between Paris and its outskirts,” he told Le Parisien.
The exhibition curator wants to show Greater Paris and promote the city of Clichy, a neighbor of the capital. In addition to this route, the Pavillon Vendôme hosts Mignonisme 2, an exhibition of paintings, sculpture and other installations by Philippe Katerine, thus immersing the visitor in the somewhat crazy universe of the singer.
“This is his first exhibition in a contemporary art center and he was immediately seduced by this incredible place”, explains Éric Lévy. Cut into pieces, the most imposing sculpture was installed in the courtyard and scattered in the garden of the Pavillon Vendôme.
Philippe Katerine “has nothing to sell and does not wish to enter the art market”, underlines the exhibition curator. The singer, author and actor will be present at the Pavillon Vendôme on July 7 for a signing session for his new book Mignonisme 2, in which his work is put into context by art critics.