Today, more and more contemporary artists go beyond the traditional paint and canvas and start experimenting with new materials and techniques. One of those artists is Philippe Mermi, who draws inspiration from urban aesthetics and creates unique abstract compositions literally from site debris.
Philippe Mermi has graduated from Beaux-Arts de Paris and began his career as an art director for web projects, specializing in luxury brands. He says that his lifelong passions have always been fashion, luxury, lifestyle, and arts. These interests later inspired him to found MERMI, a brand focusing on fashion accessories and textile design. At the same time, he continued to cultivate his passion for contemporary art.
The list of materials Mermi uses in his work is pretty long: metals, bricks, mirrors, wood, plaster, plastics, marble — it will take a long time to list them all. Most materials were found by the artist in Barcelona industrial workshops, combined, and transformed into artworks.
Mermi demonstrates that these discarded, abandoned objects and materials still have a meaning. In his approach, he also underlines the importance of the ecological gesture, recycling, and the weariness of mass consumption. These two notions are essential in his work.
MERMI STUDIO: “In his research he explores the movement and the interaction between space and symbol. From the line he develops a refined visual language where movement and space interfere. The lines and symbols cross, meet, overlap creating harmony and balance. This search for balance and radicality also joins his passion for yoga which directly influences his work.”