Philippe Pherivong | Contemporary Artist: Artworks & Biography

Philippe was born and raised in Yaoundé, Cameroon. An artist in his soul, he began drawing, scribbling, and painting from an early age. The work of his parents led him to travel throughout Africa (Congo, Benin, Gabon), and in 1971, still a teenager, he went alone to France to pursue his studies. After graduating from the School of Modern Art (ESAM) in Paris, he collaborated on several artistic projects. A painter, graphic artist, and illustrator, he lives and works in Tours. He participates in numerous events with ""Itineraries"", an artists association, of which he is president.\nHe uses a figurative style, borrowed from a long tradition of contemporary art stretching from Eugène Delacroix (French painter, nineteenth century) Miquel Barceló (Spanish artist) to Pablo Picasso (Spanish painter, twentieth century) and Jean-Michel Basquiat (American artist, twentieth century). His use of colour is reminiscent of the Fauvist Kees Van Dongen (Dutch painter, nineteenth - twentieth centuries). His animated portraits combine the iconoclasm of Combas (French painter) with the poetry of Marc Chagall (Russian-born French painter, twentieth century). His large dark outlines evoke the modernity of the figures of Georges Rouault (French painter, nineteenth - twentieth centuries).\nThe heat of Africa and the complexity of human relationships are his main sources of inspiration. Drawing is the starting point for his work, and Philippe focuses his work around different themes. For each topic, there is a corresponding reflection on form or colour. His art is a mixture of media (acrylic, oil on paper, wood, canvas, cardboard, iron). To give more plasticity to his creations, the artist glues on different elements: newspapers, torn posters, fabrics. He shapes the material by thickening his paints with sawdust or sand. The act of painting is experienced as a perpetual challenge, a way to arouse emotion. In this context, gestures play an important role in the creative process. Impulsive and spontaneous, they respond to the need to ""create to exist.""