FERNAND MICHEL

First published: September 2025

Finding an old metal plate in the mud one day led bookbinder Fernand Michel to frantically create studded landscapes and erotic figures for the rest of his life

During World War II, Fernand Michel left the northeastern French region of Lorraine, where he was born in 1913, and migrated south towards the Mediterranean Sea. On the way, he met and married his wife Marianne and, shortly after the liberation of France, the couple settled in Montpellier and went on to have two sons. Michel opened a bookbinding shop in the town, and the multitude of art books that passed through his hands – which he skillfully dressed in leather or burlap – led him to develop a keen interest in the painting and sculpture of the time, particularly Surrealism. His job also brought him into contact with many bibliophiles, including writers and painters, which provided an ideal environment for his intellectual and existential growth.

Michel in his studio, 1974; photo: André Hampartzoumiam

By the end of the 1950s, Michel was ready to set himself free creatively. Completely self-taught, he began to experiment with art techniques as well as to invent his own: for his “one-night” paintings he applied liquid colours to a canvas and left them to move overnight, thus creating compositions; he soaked fishing sinkers in ink, and then tossed them to make tachisme constellations; and he used crumpled toilet paper to create prints.

The Huts, 1975, 20.5 x 12 in. / 52 x 30 cm; Vincent Martinez

While stimulating, these endeavours left Michel feeling that his artistic journey was incomplete. Despite the originality of the work he produced, he could still detect the influence of contemporary art which he felt was obstructing his personal creative expression. This frustration stayed with him until one day, in 1962, he came across something that instantaneously altered the course of his existence.