Philippe Ramette

Born in Auxerre in 1961, Philippe Ramette is a French visual artist whose practice ranges from photography to sculpture, installation, and drawing. He lives and works in Paris.
Philippe Ramette was introduced to sculpture at the Villa Arson in Nice (1987-1989), where he produced works inspired by surrealism. His early sculptures were given complex titles with a dry, often coercive humor, referencing the utopian visions of 19th-century inventors: Socle à réflexion (1989), Objets à se faire foudroyer (Objects to be Struck by Lightning, 1991), Potence préventive pour dictateur potentiel (Preventive Gallows for Potential Dictators, 1993). Later, his sculptures would feature characters (Éloge de la discrétion (In Praise of Discretion), 2012, Éloge du pas de côté (In Praise of Stepping Aside), 2018, Éloge de la transgression (In Praise of Transgression), 2018).

At the same time, it was his photographs, which transposed the humor and strangeness of his sculptures into images, that brought him widespread recognition. The artist—who stages himself—performs acrobatic feats without tricks or digital retouching, between heaven and earth, on the edge of the void, which pleasantly deceive the eye and thus function as an enigma to be solved.
In 2020/2021, following an invitation from the MiniMasterpiece gallery to design a wearable sculpture, Philippe Ramette created the Ring to Always Take the Right Direction. This piece is entirely consistent with his body of work.