Between comics and pop culture, Hervé Di Rosa‘s art is part of Figuration libre, a movement that started in France in the 1980s. The most interesting aspect of Di Rosa’s works, besides his colours and extravagant characters, lies in his thinking. We are talking in particular about the concept of ‘Modest Arts’ – as he calls them – which stems from his interest in Kitsch and forgotten, marginalised or belittled art. His intention is to question the absolutism of art that is considered ‘high’, that carried out by the Avant-gardes for instance. In addition to being an artist, Hervé Di Rosa is in fact a collector of images in all forms, collected during his numerous travels in which he comes into contact with international craftsmen and artists.

Among the countries visited by Hervé Di Rosa are Tunisia, Bulgaria, Ghana, Benin, Ethiopia, Vietnam, South Africa, Corsica, Cuba, Mexico, the United States, Cameroon and Israel. Here he takes inspiration for his works, which range from painting to sculpture, passing through comics, tapestry, printmaking, fresco, ceramics, digital and many other mediums. The point is precisely this, not to elevate any technique but to develop his narrative through different languages. His collection was then collected in a dedicated museum founded in 2020 in Sète, called the International Museum of Modest Arts (MIAM). Modest Arts according to him ‘are neither an artistic genre nor a movement; but they shift the gaze. They are an opening of this gaze, a disposition to curiosity. Modest Arts concern both mass-produced objects and unique creations. They constitute a kind of super-category that encloses and connects the margins of each domain’. Today, his works, along with some by other artists in his collection, are included in the institutional exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.