The Boatman (Le Passeur)
I am in love with light.
It is the most favoured medium of my sensitivity, of my work.
It flows in our lives, it irrigates our universe
It opens the door.
Light has this unique feature, to be both corpuscular and undulatory in nature, both material and immaterial.
And for me, the artist shall be a boatman, precisely from the material toward the immaterial, from the real toward the imaginary, toward pure sensitivity.
What a better vector than light to achieve this goal ?
Light as medium then, but why not as a finality ?
Did I really choose light ? Didn’t it impose itself upon me ?
Light talks.
I hear it,
Sometimes.
Rome, 2007
Eric Michel was born in Aix-en-Provence in 1962. He started to learn music and painting at the age of nine through Martenot artistic education method. After advanced studies in mathematics and economy, he started a carrier in international finance, while pursuing his artistic activities.
He has made numerous exhibitions in Tokyo where he was living until 2002 as president of an American financial firm. In December 2003 his work was presented at “Senza Frontiere” international biennale art exhibition in Kawasaki, and since then, his video works and light sculptures are regularly shown at museum, galleries and contemporary art events around the world.
In November 2007 his video work “Swimming Fluo” was presented at Shanghai Museum for Contemporary Art (MOCA), as well as most contemporary art museum around China, at the occasion of “Sport in Art” exhibition sponsored by Beijing 2008 Olympic Committee. In 2009, he created two multimedia installations successively for Yves Klein Archives in Paris, and for the Museum of Modern Art and Contemporary Art (MAMAC) in Nice.
Since 2011 his large scale permanent lighting installation ‘Les Moulins de Lumière” is visible every evening until midnight in the skyline north of Paris on the neo-industrial site called “Les Grands Moulins de Pantin”. His monumental monochrome of light “Fluo Blue” has entered in 2011 the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art and Contemporary Art in Nice. His neon work “la lumiere parle” was exhibited in 2012 at “La Maison Rouge” Fondation in Paris. In 2013 his exhibition “Passeur de Lumière” offered a dialogue with Le Corbusier’s architecture at La Tourette convent near Lyon and in 2014 he was invited to create a monumental lighting installation to surround Yves Klein’s Monotone-Silence Symphony at the Philharmony in Luxembourg.
Following a path opened by Yves Klein, James Turrell and Dan Flavin, his work, and particularly his fluorescent neon installations and videos, creates a vibrating space, in search for immateriality.
Personal exhibitions :
2017 :
“Platonium”, Place du Marché Couvert, Metz
“La Chapelle de Lumière”, Festival “Les Jours de Lumière”, Saint-Saturnin
2016 :
“Platonium”, Fête des Lumière, cour de l’Hôtel de Ville, Lyon
“ARGIA, la lumière-langage”, Château Observatoire Abbadia, Hendaye
“Pôle Lumière”, Pôle Culturel Chabran, Draguignan
2015 :
“Light Project”, Arts Elysées, Paris
“Le laboratoires des lumières”, Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, Paris
“Vivre la Lumière”, ESSEC Business School, Cergy-Pontoise
2014 :
“La Veillée des Solitaires”, salle capitulaire, Abbaye de Saint-Jean-aux-Bois
“Mono Light”, œuvre pour la Symphonie Monoton-Silence d’Yves Klein, Philharmonie de Luxembourg
2013 :
“Passeur de Lumière”, Couvent de La Tourette, Eveux
“Avez-vous dans les yeux ce qui manque aux paysages”, Le 19 Paul Fort, Paris
“Passeur de Lumière”, Couvent de La Tourette, Eveux
2012 :
“Aura”, Hôtel-Dieu, Brie-Comte-Robert
Ilan Engel Gallery, Paris
2011 :
“Fluo Blue”, permanent installation, MAMAC, Nice
“Quid sit lumen”, Collégiale Saint-Lazare, Avallon
“Fluorescence(s)”, Ilan Engel Gallery, Paris
“Les Moulins de Lumière”, Grands Moulins de Pantin
2010 :
Marina Abramovic Institute (MAI West), San Francisco
Galerie Véronique Smagghe, Paris
2009 :
Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain (MAMAC), Nice
“Lumière et Immatériel”, Archives Yves Klein, Paris
2008 :
Galerie Véronique Smagghe, Paris
Librairie Mazarine, Vanessa Suchar, Paris
“SPQR Fluo”, Galleria Augusto Consorti, Rome
“La Playa Fluo”, Immersiva Remix, Rome
“Fluorescence”, Musée d’Histoire et d’Art, Villeneuve-Loubet
2007 :
“Biblioteca Fluorescente”, Université de la Sapienza, Rome
2006 :
“Cabaret” , Vanessa Suchar, Paris
“Nuit Fluo”, Nuit Blanche 2006, Paris
2005 :
“Hommage à Yves Klein”, Galerie MB, Paris
2004 :
Librairie-Galerie Racine, Paris
2003 :
Galerie Mamia Bretesché, Paris
2001 :
Pink Cow Art Gallery, Tokyo
“Vivre La Vie” Art Lounge, Tokyo
Design Festa Gallery, Tokyo
Collective exhibitions (selection) :
2017 :
FIAC, Galerie 8+4 / Bernard Chauveau, Paris
YIA Artfair, Galerie Véronique Smagghe, Paris
Art Elysées, Galerie Véronique Smagghe, Paris
Fiesta de la Luz, Quito
YIA Artfair #10, Basel Art Center, Basel
“Volume-Espace-Trait”, Prieuré de Pont Loup, Moret-sur-Loing
Art Paris, Galerie Véronique Smagghe, Paris
Bright Brussels Festival, Brussels
2016 :
Art Elysées, Galerie Véronique Smagghe, Paris
“Le Précieux Pouvoir des Pierres”, MAMAC, Nice
Closing Ceremony of 2015 International Year of Light, Hotel de Ville, Paris
2015 :
CURIOSITas arts & science festival, Gif-sur-Yvette
Art Elysées, Galerie Véronique Smagghe, Paris
"Vers une architecture de lumière", Chartreuse de Villeneuve-lez-Avignon
"la lumière parle, collections centenaires et contemporaines", Marché Dauphine, Paris
“Within Light / Inside Glass”, Galleria Millenium, Lisbon
“Art & Care”, Palais de Tokyo, Paris
Art Paris, Galerie Véronique Smagghe, Paris
“Within Light / Inside Glass”, Palazzo Loredan, Venice
2014 :
“Video Time”, Ilan Engel Gallery, Paris
Art Elysées, Galerie Véronique Smagghe, Paris
Festival a-part ‘Drapeaux d’artistes’, Les Beaux-de-Provence
Cutlog NY, BlackBoxCenter, New York
“Atmosphère”, Ilan Engel Gallery, Paris
“Les Pierres de Lumière”, Prieuré de Pont Loup, Moret-sur-Loing
Art Paris Art Fair, Galerie Véronique Smagghe, Paris
2013 :
Slick Art Fair, Michael Petronko Gallery NY, Paris
“I see you”, biennale internationale d’art vidéo, Kunsthalle, Detroit
“Un été pour Matisse - Autour des piscines”, Musée d’archéologie, Nice
“D-Light”, Accenture, Paris
“Synchrony//City”, Ilan Engel Gallery, Paris
Slick Art Fair Brussels, Bernard Chauveau Editeur
Art Paris Art Fair, Ilan Engel Gallery & Galerie Véronique Smagghe, Paris
“L’art au défi de l’espérance”, Mairie du 6ème arrondissement, Paris
2012 :
Festival des Arts Numériques, Verrières-le Buisson
Nuit a-part ‘Light & Soul’, Carrières de Lumières, Les Beaux-de-Provence
“Alors, 2012 ? ”, Espace d’art contemporain Beaudoin, Antony
“Echos”, films de danse et d’art, Centre d’Art Le Lait, Albi
Art Paris Art Fair, Ilan Engel Gallery & Galerie Véronique Smagghe, Paris
“Néon, who’s afraid of red, yellow and blue? ”, La Maison Rouge, Paris
“Certains pleurent d’émotion devant les équations de Maxwell”, Galerie Odile Ouizeman, Paris
2011 :
“Light Fiction”, Kunsthalle Detroit
SLICK 11, Ilan Engel Gallery, Paris
“La couleur en avant”, MAMAC, Nice
Art Paris, Galerie Véronique Smagghe, Paris
Drawing Now, Galerie Véronique Smagghe, Paris
2010 :
“Artistes de Collection”, Château des Baumettes, Villeneuve-Loubet
SLICK 10, Galerie Véronique Smagghe / Vanessa Suchar, Paris
“Collaborators 2”, ROOM Art Space, London
“Private light in public spaces”, Light Art Biennale 2010, Linz, Austria
“Kozmik Latte”, une sélection de la Collection Borusan, Istanbul
“Construire sa Lumière”, Espace d’art contemporain Beaudoin, Antony
Art Paris, Vanessa Suchar, Paris
2009 :
Art Viceroy, Miami
Art Elysées, Galerie Véronique Smagghe, Paris
Galerie Estivale d’Anières, Geneva
L’Atelier Soardi, Nice
“Expoland”, Artempion, Fontenay-sous-Bois
Bridge Art Fair, Michael Petronko Gallery, New York
‘Solo Projects’, Rupert Ravens Contemporary, Newark
"FACEBOOK's FRIENDS, a virtual reality", La Cité des Géométries
2008 :
“Nuevas Adquisiciones”, Michel Soskine, Madrid
Art Elysées, Galerie Véronique Smagghe, Paris
Slick Artfair, Vanessa Suchar, Paris
“Sport in Art”, video Swimming Fluo, Today Art Museum, Beijing
Galerie Estivale d’Anières, Geneva
Art Paris, Vanessa Suchar Mews 42, London
2007 :
Bridge Artfair, Vanessa Suchar Mews42, Miami
“Sport in Art”, video Swimming Fluo, MOCA Shanghai
Slick Artfair, Vanessa Suchar, Paris
Bridge Artfair, Michael Petronko Gallery NY, Londres
L’Eté Contemporain Dracénois, Chapelle de l’Observance, Draguignan
Galerie W, Paris
Galerie Estivale d’Anières, Geneva
“La Culture des Individu.e.s”, Galerie Yukiko Kawase, Paris
“Nouvelle Biennale”, UMAM, Nice
“Multitude”, Salon de Printemps, Ozoir-la-Ferrière
Michael Petronko Gallery, New York
RED DOT Fair, Vanessa Suchar, New york
DiVA, Galerie Yukiko Kawase, New York
2006 :
Bridge Art Fair, Vanessa Suchar, Miami
SLICK Art Fair, Vanessa Suchar, Paris
ART(212), Vanessa Suchar, New York
Michael Petronko Gallery, New York
“Namaste”, Vanessa Suchar, Londres
AAF Contemporary Art Fair, Gallery A Taste of Art, New York
“Spirit of Pop”, Galerie La B*A*N*K, Le Sens, Paris
“The Harlem Art Project”, Saatchi & Saatchi, New York
“International New Art in Paris Now”, MB Gallery, Paris
DiVA (Digital & Video Art Fair), MB Gallery, New York
“Serendipity”, Vanessa Suchar, Londres
2005 :
“Art Pluriel”, Paris
DiVA (Digital & Video Art Fair), MB Gallery, Paris
“Design / Desire”, MB Gallery
“Regard sur la photographie internationale”, Galerie Parisud
Galerie W, Paris
2004 :
“Petits Jeux à partir du Grand Jeu”, University of Reims
49ème Salon de Montrouge
2003 :
Biennale “Senza Frontiere”, Kawasaki
Arte Facte “2”, Chateau de Crémault, Vienne
2000 :
Design Festa, Tokyo
Permanent works in public and private spaces (selection) :
2015 :
“Pôle Lumière”, Cultural Center, Draguignan (FR)
“Les Thermes de Lumière”, Cures Marines, Trouville (FR)
2014 :
“shoes / no shoes”, néon, collection permanente du musée SONS, Kruishouten (BE)
2012 :
“Fluo Red”- Light installation for Free telecom headquarters, Paris (FR)
2011 : “Fluo Blue” - Permanent installation, Museum of Modern Art and Contemporary Art (MAMAC), Nice (FR)
“Les Moulins de Lumière ” - Permanent installation, Grands Moulins de Pantin (FR)
Main publications (selection) :
2016 :
Exhibition catalogue Le Précieux pouvoir des pierres, MAMAC Nice
2015 :
Exhibition catalogue Within Light Glass Light, an interaction bewteen art and science, Palazzo Loredan, Venise
2014 :
Catalogue Rainy Days - switch the light on, Philharmonie de Luxembourg
2013 :
Derrière le visible, Rencontre Le Corbusier / Eric Michel,
Éditions Bernard Chauveau, collection Couleurs Contemporaines
2012 :
Néon. Le néon dans l’art, des années 1940 à nos jours, La Maison Rouge & Archibooks (pages 95,114)
Light in Architecture, Chris van Uffelen, Braun Publishing (pages 346-347)
2011 :
L’Art contemporain et la Côte d’Azur, 1951-2011,
Les Presses du Réel (pages 97-99)
2008 :
Éric Michel, monography, Galerie Véronique Smagghe
2007 :
Catalogue Sport in Art - Olympics Games Beijing 2008
Dominique Fabre, Éric Michel, Chapelle de l’Observance
Catalogue Nouvelle Biennale de l’UMAM, Nice (FR)
2003 :
Catalogue Senza Frontiere, biennale de Kawasaki (JP)
Artist residency & performances :
2017 :
Light Project - first phase - 836M, San Francisco
2016 :
NEKaTOENEa, artist residency, Hendaye
“Lumière absolument”, performance with AnnaO, La Maison Rouge, Paris
Conferences, master-classes, colloques (selection) :
2017 :
Arts & sciences workshop, Institut d'Optique Graduate School, Paris
Art Advisor for the Century of the Institut d’Optique (light installations, events)
Lesson and workshops on Fluorescence, Institut d’Optique, Saint-Etienne
"Exploring new Frontiers in Art&Science", Festival des Nouvelles Exploration, Royan
2016 :
Arts & sciences workshop, Institut d'Optique Graduate School
Light and Perception in Art, Givaudan, Paris
Art & innovation workshop, ESSEC Executive Education, Paris
"Les mondes de l’art", confererence, I.A.E. Nice
2015 :
Light in Art & Architecture, National School for Architecture, Nantes
2014 :
Light, Perception and Innovation in Art, Institut d’Optique Graduate School, Paris
Light & Perception in Art, Association of Light Designers, Nantes