The Luxembourgish artist Gast Michels (1954-2013) was a remarkably keen observer of his environment. He meticulously analysed and decoded his surroundings, translating them into his own formal universe. Michels’ oeuvre has a unique formal language and features recurring symbols like wheels or arrows and a luminous colour palette, often dominated by the complementary colours blue and yellow. While the early work of the Echternach-born artist predominantly deals with seemingly mythical depictions of human figures in woodland settings, his later works have a more graphic pictorial language featuring highly stylised objects and signs. As a painter, sculptor and graphic artist, Michels worked in various mediums but always remained true to his expressive, symbolic and at times humorous and ironic visual language.
This autumn, the Cercle Cité and the National Museum of History and Art present the artist's first comprehensive retrospective, covering 30 years of his work. The show consists of two parts and is on show at both exhibition venues. The first part at the Cercle Cité focuses on Michels’ works on paper, illustrating his semiotic approach to developing a unique language of forms and symbols. The second part at the MNHA concentrates on the artist’s monumental works. It provides an overview of Michels’ different creative phases and the development of his distinctive style with works ranging from the early 1980s to the 2010s, including paintings, sculptures and a tapestry.
Private visit with Paul Bertemes, curator
