Guy Michels

Born in 1947 into a family of railway workers and farmers who had lived for several generations in Drauffelt, a small village in the Oesling region, Guy Michels pursued a dual career as a visual artist and teacher. While still at primary school, his teacher noticed that he had a particular talent for drawing and painting. His teacher introduced him to the world of art, a path Michels would later share with his own students. Thanks to the encouragement he received from his parents, Michels was able to complete his art studies, first at the Institut Supérieur d'Architecture and the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Liège and then at the International Summer Academy in Salzburg. After graduating in graphic arts in 1972, he was appointed art teacher at the Lycée de Garçons in Esch-sur-Alzette. During his professional career, he also taught at the Institut Supérieur d'Études et de Recherches Pédagogiques (ISERP) and was a lecturer at the Centre Universitaire de Luxembourg.

Upon completion of his studies, he settled in Bergem, situated in the southern region of Luxembourg, in a house built to his own designs. He married and had two daughters. Alongside his position as an art teacher, he pursued a career as an artist, at times even as a curator. His thirst for knowledge and his quest for beauty prompted him to travel extensively, bringing back numerous sketches (e.g., from Italy, Iran, Egypt and Jordan) as well as art objects that enriched his work.

He created works in a variety of fields: drawing, painting, engraving, illustration, wall decoration, sculpture (relief) and collage. The artist mastered a wide range of painting techniques, which enabled him to easily play with several of them in his works. He experimented with different materials (plaster, sand, etc.) and textures (smooth and rough) and additionally restored some pieces from his own art collection. However, throughout his oeuvre, he always preferred drawing, which can be observed in all this works. As a passionate worker and perfectionist, he frequently produced detailed preparatory drawings. This partly explains why his works appear graphic, despite the more or less intense use of colour, and possess a strong power anchored in the present moment.

His style varied between figurative and abstract art, although he always gravitated towards figurative art, even during his cubist phase. According to the artist, it is the aesthetic dimension "that gives a work of art its true significance" (quote from Joseph-Emile Muller, taken up by Michels in Carré 56).

His favourite subjects were initially the landscapes of the Oesling region. Often, the portrayal of the human figure (either absent or present, depicted as tormented, suffering, authoritarian or rebellious), played a central role in his works. As a humanist, he placed work and people at the centre of his attention, to the extent of creating ‘a personal mythology’ (Schneider, ‘La génération intermédiaire’).

Like an architect, the artist constructed his creations with precision. He systematically tended towards monumentality, by contrasting horizontals and verticals, full and empty areas, sometimes with a more graphic or a more painterly quality, and by balancing with colours of varying intensities, ensuring that they are never too strong. Form is also a key element in his compositions, as illustrated by the sofa/bed in his painting Lit AT,  "furnished with old fantasies’ and evolving into ‘an open door to the unconscious" (Carré 75). The inscriptions (numbers and letters) on his paintings, as some of his work titles, are references to the history of art. For some of them, however, the artist has carefully kept the key to their meaning (Carré 75).

Michels took part in a considerable number of solo and group exhibitions. His first solo exhibition was held in 1975 at the Cercle municipal in Luxembourg, followed by several others, including exhibitions at the Galerie d'Art municipale in Esch-sur-Alzette and at the Château de Clervaux. Since 1993, the Galerie Simoncini has exhibited his work regularly. Additionally, his work was shown in solo exhibitions abroad at the Galerie Palais Walderdorf in Trier, the Galerie Petra Lange in Berlin, the Galleriehuset in Copenhagen and the Galerie der Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbrücken. In Luxembourg, he participated in group exhibitions at various venues, such as the Galerie d'Art Municipale d'Esch-sur-Alzette, the Galerie Brück, the Villa Vauban, the Galerie Schlassgoart and the Galerie um Friedbësch. Since 1986, he has exhibited on a regular basis in the Salon du Cercle Artistique de Luxembourg (CAL). His first group exhibition abroad took place in Liège in 1974. His work has been showcased in group exhibitions in Belgium, Germany, Russia, France, Italy, Denmark, Finland and Poland.

During his studies, Jacques Gillet (1931-2022) (architecture) and Henri Brasseur (1918-1981) (drawing) exerted a significant impact on the artist. Michels was also influenced by Piero della Francesca (born between 1412 and 1420, died 1492), Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Zao Wou-Ki (1921-2013), Francis Bacon (1909-1992), Max Beckman (1884-1950), David Hockney (1937-) and Antoni Tàpies (1923-2012), amongst others. In Luxembourg, he was mentored by Foni Tissen. Luxembourg author Tony Bourg introduced him to the art of pedagogy and French literature. He found his own convictions, among others, in the words of Joseph-Emile Muller (Carré 50). As the artist was much appreciated by the cultural scene of his time, he collaborated with several contemporary colleagues, including Henri Kraus, Ad Deville and Pit Nicolas. As part of his artistic teaching, he also helped to train a considerable number of art teachers.

Michels' work is represented in a number of public collections, including the Musée national d'archéologie, d'histoire et d'art (MNAHA), the 2 Musées de la Ville de Luxembourg, the Bibliothèque nationale du Luxembourg (BnL), as well as the Banque et Caisse d'Épargne de l'Etat (BCEE), the BGL BNP Paribas and the Banque Internationale du Luxembourg (BIL). His works also feature in several private collections in Luxembourg and abroad. In Luxembourg, Michels is represented by the Galerie Simoncini.

Furthermore, Michels has always been very active in society. He served as a president to the Association des professeurs d'éducation artistique de l'enseignement secondaire (APEA) and APEA representative on the Conseil National de la Culture. Furthermore, he was a member of the committee of the Association des professeurs de l'enseignement secondaire et supérieur (APESS). Additionally, he was a member of a ministerial committee responsible for creating and organising a ‘plastic arts’ programme in secondary schools. Since the early 1970s, he has supported and worked with a number of public and private cultural, charitable and environmental associations initiating projects to encourage artistic creation and raise public awareness of contemporary art. Since 1988, he has been a full member of the Cercle artistique de Luxembourg (CAL). Abroad, he has collaborated with the Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst in Trier. 

Right at the beginning of his career, Michels was honoured with the PRO ARTE medal by the Belgian state in 1969. In 1994, he was awarded the 1st LIMES Art Prize in Germany and in 2004 the 1st Prix Max Goergen in Luxembourg. 

Michels attracted attention with his passion, his work and his frankness – "the truth of a look" (Schneider, "La génération intermédiaire"). In 1976, a review in the Luxemburger Wort defined his work as "a search for a new style" (blg.). Several years later, in 1990, he was considered "an artist who has remained faithful to his views of ‘vision’ and ‘rigour’ while at the same time evolving intelligently" (Schneider, "À hauteur d’homme"). During his lifetime, two monographs have been dedicated to him, featuring various chronological reviews: the first published in 1996 by the art critic Joseph Paul Schneider, who excellently portrayed this "unclassifiable"’ artist, following an analysis of his artistic evolution. The title of his monograph Guy Michels: une lente prise de possession du monde, [Guy Michels: a slow appropriation of the world], refers to this notion of process. The second and more extensive monograph, written in 2009 by the critic and psychologist Gaston Carré, provides an in depth-analysis of Michels’ personality, describing him as an existentialist artist and concluding that he had not yet said his last word (57; 116). In 2023, art critic Paul Bertemes highlighted the continuation of the artist's authentic approach in describing man's capitulation to his own superiority, " (...) without the aid of artificial intelligence" (3).

In retrospect, Michels can be regarded as a highly committed figure in the cultural landscape of Luxembourg. Indeed, he did not only follow his personal artistic vocation, but he also contributed to the development of art in Luxembourg. His efforts focused on fostering accessibility to the arts for everyone and on training a new generation of artists and educators. Through his distinctive artistic style, he also expressed his own very critical convictions about society.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

blg. "Trois artistes en pleine évolution." Luxemburger Wort 18.11.1976: unknown. Print. (Archiv Herr, M15 Michels, p. 9e)

Carré, Gaston et al. Guy Michels : un homme et son œuvre. Luxembourg: Impr. Centrale, 2009. Print.

Bertemes, Paul. Cahier d’artiste : Guy Michels. Luxembourg: Imprimerie Centrale, 2023. Print.

Schneider, Joseph Paul. "À hauteur d’homme…: Guy Michels à la galerie municipale d‘Esch-sur-Alzette." Luxemburger Wort 25.05.1990: unknown. Print. (Archiv Herr, M15 Michels, p. 30.)

Schneider, Joseph Paul. Guy Michels: une lente prise de possession du monde. Luxembourg: Imprimerie Centrale, 1996. Print.

Schneider, Joseph Paul. "La génération intermédiaire (artistes de 55 à 40 ans)." Art au Luxembourg, Luxembourg: n.p., 1990. Exhibition catalogue. (Archiv Herr, M15 Michels, p. 45.)

Vermast, Elisabeth. "Bereits zur Tradition geworden: Neun Luxemburger Künstler stellen in Burglinster aus." Journal 09.12.1989: unknown. Print. (Archiv Herr, M15 Michels, p. 27.)