Philippe Perrin (artist)

Philippe Perrin (born 10 August 1964) is a French contemporary sculptor and photographer who lives and works in Paris. His works are in the collections of the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris and the Musée d'art contemporain de Lyon.

Biography
Philippe Perrin was born in 1964 in La Tronche. Graduate of the École supérieure d'art de Grenoble, his work has been the subject of many gallery and museum shows, including his retrospective at the Maison Européene de la Photographie, at the Fondation Maeght, as well being sold in public auction, including the work 'Couteau' sold by Sotheby's Paris in the sale 'The Secret Garden of Marianne and Pierre Nahon' in 2004.

Work
Since the 1980s, Philippe Perrin has been an unconventional figure on the international art scene, known for his short temper and bad-boy image, exploring the inter merging of reality and fiction, evoking in his work symbols of violence taken from a variety of genres, such as crime fiction, cinema, or popular culture, notably he pays with the question of scale of the object, such as the revolver or a razor blade.

His fascination with fictional characters or symbols of the underworld : the gram of coke becomes a kilogram, or a razor blade, a revolver and other symbols of violence are presented on a large scale. For the French art critic Nicolas Bourriaud, "Perrin is a manipulator of signs, interpreting the relationship between reality and fiction through a question of scale, treating in the same manner the relation between a true biography and that of the figure of a celebrity."

A work representative of Perrin's language of allegory-visual suggestion his "Skyline": seven ball cartridges of variable sizes respect the measures of the space where they are inserted, forming a front: first line of a fighting army or a skyscrapers seafront.

"All art is political. Then we must not confuse political artists whose only goal is to seize power at any price, including mediocrity, with political artists who are supposed to "say" things…" Philippe Perrin

Main solo shows

 * 2020 : "PHILIPPE PERRIN". L’Approche. Molenbeek –Bruxelles.
 * 2019 : "WELCOME TO BANYULS". Musée Maillol, Banyuls, France
 * 2018 : "SHOT BY BOTH SIDES". 59pm. Bruxelles
 * 2017 : "SULFURES". Incognito Artclub. Paris
 * 2014 : " Kung Foo Cowboy ", Incognito Artclub, Paris.
 * 2013 : " Kill Me ", Recreation of the 1993 performance, Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris.
 * 2012 : " Under the gun ", Musée Maillol, Paris, France.
 * 2010 : " Haut et Court ", Maison européenne de la photographie, Paris, France.
 * 2009 : " Philippe Perrin ", Gallery Albert Benamou, Paris, France.
 * 2009 : " Agrandissements ", Gallery Maeght, Paris, France.
 * 2006 : " Heaven ", monumental installation for the Nuit Blanche.
 * 2006 : " Shootingstar ", Xin Dong Cheng Gallery, Beijing, China.
 * 2004 : " Philippe Perrin Superstar ", Guy Pieters Gallery, Knokke, Belgique
 * 2001 : " Poupestroy ", Gallery R&L Beaubourg, Paris, France.
 * 1997 : " Les Mystères de Paris ", Maison européenne de la photographie, Paris, France.
 * 1997 : " Rendez-vous au ciel ", Gallery R&L Beaubourg, Paris, France.
 * 1989 : " La Panoplie ", Philippe Perrin at the Galerie Perrotin, Paris, France.

Main group shows

 * 2019 : « LA VIE EST UN FILM ». Curated by Ben Vautier. Le 109. Nice
 * 2019 : « LIBERTE, LIBERTE CHERIE ». Ancien bagne. Nice
 * 2019 : « ARTA ». Saisons croisées. Bucarest
 * 2019 : « PORTE ENTROUVERTE ». Freeport. Luxembourg.
 * 2019 : « ARTA ». Saisons croisées. Grenoble.
 * 2018 : « L’ESPRIT D’UNE COLLECTION ». Fondation Maeght. St-Paul de Vence. F
 * 2018 : « LA PHOTOGRAPHIE FRANCAISE EXISTE, JE L’AI RENCONTREE ». Maison Européenne de la Photographie. MEP. Paris
 * 2018 : " CRUE 1910". Incognito Artclub. Paris
 * 2017 : "LA TEMPETE". CRAC, Sète. France
 * 2017 :"VARIATIONS". Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris
 * 2016 : "M.Y. Foundation" Collection. Musée Olympique. Séoul. Korea
 * 2016 : "LES INVENDUS". Collection Albert Benamou. Musée Le Carroi et Hôtel de Ville. Chinon. France
 * 2015 : " Chercher le garçon ", Contemporary art museum of Val-de-Marne
 * 2014 : « Les Invendus », Albert Benamou Collection, Museum of Le Carroi and Hôtel de Ville.
 * 2014 : " Invasao criativa ", Cidade Matarazzo, São Paulo, Brazil.
 * 2013 : " Maison européenne de la photographie ", Paris, France.
 * 2013 : " L'Œil d'un collectionneur ": Serge Aboukrat, Maison européenne de la photographie, Paris.
 * 2012 : " Cibles ", Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris.
 * 2012 : Marlborough Gallery, Monaco (artist group show including Picasso, Miguel Chevalier, François Morellet, Chu Teh-Chun etc.).
 * 2012 : " Group show ", Galerie Maeght, Paris.
 * 2012 : " Biennale de La Havane ", Cuba, (11th edition).
 * 2012 : " 50 artists, one collection ", Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul de Vence, France.
 * 2006 : " Sculptures en plein air ", Xin Dong Cheng Gallery, Beijing.
 * 2005 : " Autour de la photographie ", Maison européenne de la photographie, Paris.
 * 1996 : " La Colère ", The Pompidou Centre, Paris.
 * 1995 : " Passions privées ", Musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris, Paris.
 * 1994 : " Hors limites ", The Pompidou Centre, Paris.
 * 1993 : " Krieg (guerre) ", Triennale of photography, Graz.
 * 1992 : " Ligne de mire ", Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain.

Publications

 * 2010 : Always the Sun, "Catalogue déraisonné 1986 – 2010", Texts by Nicolas Bourriaud et Jean Nouvel