Hervé DI Rosa at D.A.G.C.

MANILA, Philippines - The French Embassy with the Alliance Française de Manille, in cooperation with the Department of Avant-Garde Clichés (D.A.G.C) gallery, present “Hervé DI Rosa – Manila,” a show introducing the internationally renowned artist Hervé Di Rosa to the art capital of the Philippines.

The show opens on Dec. 10, 7 p.m., at D.A.G.C., 2289 Pasong Tamo Extension, UPRC III Bldg., Makati City.

Di Rosa is one of the pioneers of street art, the hottest trend in the galleries around the world today. During the dawn of the 1980s, Di Rosa along with other French artists Robert Combas, Remi Blanchard, and Francois Boisrond formed the legendary Free Figuration movement otherwise known as “Figuration Libre” in Paris. This group rivaled the attention of their New York counterparts such as Kenny Scharf, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Keith Haring. Di Rosa personally knew both Basquiat and Haring, and in fact he had two stores with Haring in Paris back then. Di Rosa’s street art activities of stencils, posters, and graffiti started even earlier than the trend was coined, since he was practicing the tradition of the Situationists and the student protests of May ’68 that had rattled so much of French critical philosophy during its time, which resonates even further today with the recent “Occupy” movements around the globe. 

“Mondestplomt”

This December, Manila will get the rare opportunity of seeing first hand Hervé Di Rosa’s dynamic work at his friend Manuel Ocampo’s radical Department of Avant-Garde Clichés gallery.

Di Rosa’s introduction to the Filipino local art scene would follow his penchant for showing art at the most unlikely places — as street artist in presenting spontaneous creativity in parts unfamiliar. Di Rosa’s art is spontaneously liberating much like the Eighties where his work all began. Reacting from the conceptual austerity of aesthetics done in the previous decade, art from the eighties re-introduced visual pleasure and free expression while being critically aware of its position in the history of art but without sacrificing the stimulus of popular culture. Di Rosa’s works are therefore whimsical renditions of modern life featuring colorful characters filled with joie de vivre. They are boisterous and funny, delightful and fun to be with, always looking for a good time amidst the hustle and bustle of life. Definitely Manila offers the best context for the art of Hervé Di Rosa since Filipinos do share this kind of sensibility that strives for the best regardless of the overwhelming conditions. 

The show is on view until Jan. 28, 2012.

“Humanite”

For information, call 817-2042, SMS 639162459221 or dagcgallery@gmail.com