Philippe Katerine’s pink men arrive in Montreal

French singer, actor and artist Philippe Katerine is visiting Montreal to present his career THE Cutenessa series of pink sculptures in the shape of large Pepto-Bismol-colored men – the Mr. Rose – which will mark the city center until September 29. The fantasist explained his approach to us.

For more than 30 years, Philippe Katerine has been best known for his extraordinary music and his numerous film roles, but he first studied visual arts at Rennes-II University in the mid-1980s.

It’s my first love and my first success. When I was eight years old, I participated in a national competition in France to represent Monsieur Séguin’s goat. And it was me who wonhe recalls in an interview, in a small café on Esplanade Tranquille, a stone’s throw from Place des Arts.

The idea of Cutenessan artistic movement based on wonder and the beauty of simplicity, came to him at the start of the pandemic, while he was confined at home with his three children.

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Fifteen statues scattered around the city

Initially, the Mr. Rose were small plasticine figurines that he made, inspired by the children’s series Barbapapa and its pear-shaped characters, who have the ability to change shape at will.

The characters transform into a building or a bottle to perform feats. It’s a brilliant idea, and it remains an island for mehe said.

A few years later, these scale models took the form of giant resin sculptures, the largest of which can be up to 2.70 m high. The men were designed with rounded edges – I hate anglessays their creator – and are presented in the simplest device.

Some of them have a scar under their left nipple, a nod to the open heart surgery the artist had to undergo at age eight, due to a heart defect.

After being exhibited in Shanghai and Paris, 15 of these pink men crossed the Atlantic by liner at the initiative of the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership, to take over the streets and even the roofs of certain buildings in Montreal.

The public will be able to discover the works all summer in the city center, among others at the Quartier des spectacles, Square Phillips, the Eaton Center, Place Montréal Trust and at the foot of the giant ring on the Esplanade PVM.

An exhibition in Quebec and a new album in the fall

Alongside the route, a video bringing the Mr. Rose, created by Montreal artist Jérémy Fassio in collaboration with Philippe Katerine, will also be presented on the facades of the Édifice Wilder – Espace Danse, near the Saint-Laurent metro station and on the mosaic of screens located inside the Place des Arts.

The official announcement has still not been made, but Philippe Katerine will also present an exhibition of his works – drawings, paintings, sculptures, collages, etc. – in Quebec during the summer season.

Following the arrival of his Mr. Rose in Montreal, the artist also announced the release of a new album which will be released this fall, with a first single entitled Under my bob coming June 6.