Philippe Katerine at Arles Drawing Festival: A Mignonist Universe

Philippe Katerine, a French artist known for his fluid practice across drawing, music, and performance, is featured at the Festival du dessin in Arles (until May 17). The festival presents an exhibition of his drawings and a concert-lecture with guitarist Philippe Eveno. Katerine describes 'mignonisme' as an artistic movement of which he is the sole member, addressing profound, dark, or violent subjects through a cute, rounded aesthetic. He cites Jeff Koons, Paola Pivi, and Niki de Saint Phalle as fellow mignonists. Katerine's Monsieur Rose character, with a heart scar visible only up close, was recently installed in multiple positions across New York streets. At the festival, he shows 33 drawings and presents two books: 'Ce que je sais de l’amour' and 'Ce que je sais de la mort'. He admires obsessive artists like David Hockney, Simon Hanselmann, and Robert Crumb. Katerine considers Jeff Koons's 'Bouquet de tulipes' in Paris his favorite monument, praising its unstable and grotesque quality.