BIOGRAPHY
Born in 1966 in Bayonne, Philippe Hervé lives and works as a painter in the Toulouse region of France.
Since childhood, he has never stopped drawing. Wishing to deepen and perfect a need that was irrepressible for him, and to find out how far he could and would go, he decided to study art at the Emile Cohl school in Lyon.
Philippe Hervé began painting through figuration, influenced by impressionism in the background and expressionism in the form.
Then, after a long pause in his practice, abstract portraits became his new way of expressing himself, finally arriving at total abstraction.
For two years, in 2021 and 2022, he used a pseudonym Jean-Marie Hervé (JM Hervé), which he left to revert to his usual name.
His exhibitions, both individual and collective, began during his studies. Since then, he has taken part in numerous exhibitions across France, in Toulouse, Lyon, Paris and Bordeaux, including the Grand Prix of institute Bernard Magrez in Bordeaux.
ARTISTIC APPROACH
The work of Philippe Hervé is part of a journey that has as its foundation the universal vibrations. These vibrations naturally lead him to La Trace. A journey that is both intimate and global, revealed through gesture.
His constant search for the ‘absolute’ gesture is anchored in the ‘non-action’ of which intention is the centre.
An exploration that enters into symbiosis with the artist's inner realities, leading him to be what he is today: a ‘Traces revealer’.
An incessant quest for singular imprints that nevertheless resonate at the heart of a Whole.
His abstractions reveal themselves to be a complex and free play of forms; the grasp of space and within space is immediate.
There is in this artistic attitude a desire for spiritual elevation. As long as the intention and the impulse are sincere and authentic, the vibration and the forms will be just right.
Everything is subtle energy.
While this experimentation initially led Philippe Hervé to work in black and white, his practice has clearly evolved.
Other colours, initially used sparingly, have now become a fundamental area of research and an essential mode of expression. In this way, Philippe Hervé brings out, with greater amplitude, the relief and relevance of the present moment, the subtle reflections and mirrors of a universe in perpetual fertility.
As the creator of his own working tools, the choice of ink is also essential; giving colours a very special power, it is also the right medium to offer an ever richer palette of sensitive effects and nuances.
The creation of works, initially with 1 dominant colour, has revealed specific outbursts for each of them. In fact, each colour makes Philippe Hervé work differently because it expresses itself with its own vibration, its own rhythm, and draws him into its singular energy.
The desire to compose with 2 dominant colours then took hold of its own accord, before finally achieving overall freedom.
The latest evolution of Philippe Herve’s work is to integrate light, depth and perspective in order to share new experiences.
