Hervé Di Rosa, born in 1959 in Sète, draws his inspiration from popular culture.
He moved to Paris immediately after his baccalauréat to study at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, and by the 1980s had made a name for himself as one of the major players in the Figuration Libre movement, alongside Robert Combas in particular. In parallel with his studio work, he travels the world on a long-term project, discovering the different art and craft techniques practiced by the peoples he meets. During his various stops around the world, he explores, for example, icons in Bulgaria, “appliqués” (fabric designs sewn on canvas) in Benin, painting on parchment animal skins in Ethiopia, lacquer with inlays in Vietnam, ceramics in Portugal... Adapting ancestral local techniques to his own mythology, he develops a syncretic art that belongs to him as much as to the rest of humanity.
In 2000, with Bernard Belluc, he founded MIAM, the Musée International des Arts Modestes in Sète.
In 2022, he is elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts, as a member of the painting section. In 2024, the Centre Pompidou devoted an exhibition to him, Hervé Di Rosa, Le Passe-Mondes.
In 2025, it's the Mucem in Marseille's turn to offer him carte blanche for the exhibition Un air de famille.
