4 museomag   04 ‘ 2022 
“PAINTING WAS A PHYSICAL ACT   
FOR HIM” 
THE DISTINCTIVE ART OF GAST MICHELS 
The National Museum of History and Art and the Cercle 
Cité are teaming up this autumn to stage Gast Michels’ 
first retrospective since the artist passed away in 2013. 
The two exhibitions, both of which open on 7 October, 
span three decades of Michels’ career and feature 
works on paper and canvas in addition to sculptures 
and a tapestry. A number of key pieces in the show 
are on loan from the Gast Michels Estate, which is 
managed by the artist’s two sons, David and Frank. 
We sat down with the brothers to speak about the 
retrospective and their father’s distinctive style. 
We meet in the artist’s former studio, located above 
what is now David Michels’ architecture office. A few 
flights of stairs take us up into the attic of the old 
mill, revealing a perfectly preserved space illuminated 
by the morning light streaming in from the slanting 
windows in the roof. Large canvases for the retro- 
spective line the paint-splattered wall at the back of the 
studio, whilst stacks of smaller works are arranged on 
a rickety table by the staircase. An old cigarette packet 
is nailed to the side of some wooden shelves and an 
empty magnum of red wine sits on top of them – the 
last one David and Frank shared with their father. “This 
is where he would work in the summer,” observes 
David, “which is why it was called the Summeratelier. 
His winter studio was downstairs. He also had a studio 
for his sculptures and a fourth one in the Provence.” 
ALWAYS SEARCHING 
As we settle into some chairs downstairs, we start to 
talk about why the brothers felt it was important to 
organise a retrospective of Gast Michels’ work. 
“We want to keep his work alive and pass it on to future 
generations,” says Frank, “Increasingly, people are 
talking about a memory boom and reviving historical 
art. It’s a culturally important moment that we felt 
we had to seize.” Working in a style often called New 
Expressionism, Michels’ distinctive use of signs and 
symbols and trademark blue-yellow colour palette cer- 
tainly speak to a contemporary audience. “He has a 
certain presence in his compositions and brushstrokes 
that still feels relevant today,” David adds. 
“His style was also very lively, honest and authentic,” 
Frank continues, “He was never scared to try new 
things and go in a different direction.” Gast Michels 
had formal training in painting and drawing, yet 
shifted from a figurative style to one more akin to 
graffiti over the course of his career. Every couple of 
years, he would move on to something new, keen to 
explore new techniques and media. He got his first 
computer in the nineties and taught himself how to 
use it, though not without the occasional outburst 
when technology got the better of him, as the brothers 
note with some amusement. The artist never shied 
We sat down with Frank and David Michels to speak about their father’s life and work and the upcoming retrospective show. 
© 
éric chenal