Sans titre, 2024

Richard Di Rosa (dit Buddy)   Emerging artists

Richard Di Rosa, known as Buddy, born in 1963 in Sète, is a French sculptor associated with Figuration Libre, an artistic movement that appeared in France in the early 1980s around notably Robert Combas, Hervé Di Rosa, Rémi Blanchard and François Boisrond. Self-taught, he is the only sculptor identified as a major figure in this movement, whose aesthetic is characterized by a spontaneous and uncomplex approach to art, nourished by comics, rock, popular culture, and graffiti.

His nickname "Buddy" refers to the American musician Buddy Holly and testifies to the importance of music in his personal universe. Richard Di Rosa studied piano and drums at the Conservatory of Sète and notably participated in the creation of the group Les Démodés with Robert Combas and Ketty Brindel. This close relationship between plastic arts and music remains an essential component of his artistic approach.

Starting in 1982, Richard Di Rosa develops a unique sculptural vocabulary by giving volume to imagined characters with his brother Hervé Di Rosa. He progressively creates a universe populated by anthropomorphic figures and creatures that he calls "Diromythological". His sculptures are distinguished by their round shapes, playful silhouettes, and chromatic power. The female body, and particularly the representation of the African woman, occupies an important place in his work.

The artist draws inspiration from Art Brut, primitive sculptures, African objects, and rock music. Material plays a central role in his creative process: earth, bronze, and metal constitute various supports for experimentation allowing him to develop his characters and his plastic language. His works also demonstrate a formal proximity to the universe of Joan Miró and Max Ernst, notably through organic forms, fantastic figures, and playful imagination.

Richard Di Rosa's career quickly takes an international dimension. His sculptures were exhibited in Paris starting in 1982, then in New York in 1983 alongside his brother and Futura 2000. Among the documented exhibitions and presentations are notably "The Adventures of Hervé and Richard Di Rosa" at the Groninger Museum of Groningen in 1986, "Viva Di Rosa" at the Children's Museum of the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris in 1988, as well as several joint exhibitions in Paris, New York, London, Amsterdam, Sète, and San Francisco. In 2002, his work was presented at the Maison des Arts de Malakoff and the Paul Valéry Museum of Sète. In May 2008, the Villa Tamaris in La Seyne-sur-Mer dedicated a retrospective tracing twenty-five years of creation.

Richard Di Rosa simultaneously develops many projects in public space and internationally. His work is represented in collections and institutions such as the Cité de la musique in Paris and the Paul Valéry Museum in Sète, which keeps the artist's works in its collection dedicated notably to Figuration Libre.

In 1989, Richard and Hervé Di Rosa opened the Galerie de l'Art Modeste in Paris, participating in the dissemination of a conception of art accessible and free from conventions. This approach aligns with Richard Di Rosa's desire to create popular, living art directly connected to society. In 2021, his artistic journey was distinguished by his nomination to the rank of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.

With his immediately identifiable sculptural language, Richard Di Rosa occupies a singular place in contemporary French art. Between contemporary sculpture, Figuration Libre, popular culture, African influences, and musical references, his work builds a colorful and playful universe populated by imaginary characters. His sculptures, made notably from earth, bronze, metal, polyester, or resin, extend a reflection on the figure, material, and imagination while retaining the free and accessible energy that characterizes his journey.