MuseoMag: MuseoMag 2022_04

MuseoMag 2022_04

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Title:: MuseoMag

Periodical volume

Title:: MuseoMag 2022_04

Preface

Title:: "Painting was a physical act for him": The distinctive art of Gast Michels

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

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