Michel Comte Retrospective displayed at NRW-Forum in Düsseldorf

Monday, 02 February 2009 22:23

 

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY - The retrospective of Michael Comte is on display from 1 February through 10 May, 2009.  Michel Comte was born in Zurich in 1954. He trained as an art restorer and then taught himself photography. In 1979, he received his first advertising commission from Karl Lagerfeld for the fashion label Chloé and moved to Paris.

In 1981 he moved to New York and later to Los Angeles for his work on American Vogue. He describes his restless life with the words: 'I have always lived on the edge'. As soon as he notices that his life is lacking risk, he moves on and focuses on something new. Perhaps it is in his genes. After all, he is the grandson of aviator Alfred Comte.

Within the space of a few years, Comte went from being an unknown photographer to being the most wanted man in the business and had established himself as one of the world's busiest fashion and magazine photographers. He has worked for Vanity Fair and Vogue, and shot portraits of celebrities from the world of art, music, and entertainment including Julian Schnabel, Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore, Mike Tyson, Carla Bruni, and Michael Schumacher, creating icons of portrait photography in the process.

Michael by Michel  is an intimate photographic portrait of the greatest racing driver in history by a modern master of photography. With unrivalled access to Michael Schumacher both at work and at home, Michel Comte built up an archive of photographs of the Formula One World Champion over the past eight years. A frank portrait of the man who has broken every record in Grand Prix racing history, Michael By Michel  tells the story of an elite sportsman who shies away from the glare of constant publicity, and of the family man who cherishes his time at home more than anything.

Published in a limited edition of 777 copies, this sumptuously printed, case-bound book is an exquisite object for the collector interested in fine books, Formula One racing, and the photographic work of Michel Comte.

But in addition to portrait, racing,  and fashion photography, Comte is increasingly branching out into journalistic and documentary photography. He has worked for the Red Cross and for his own Water Foundation and has traveled through war zones in Afghanistan, Iraq, Tibet, Bosnia, or the Sudan. He is currently working on a film about the atrocities committed during the rule of the Khmer Rouge. The NRW-Forum retrospective will also include these kinds of photographs, thereby showcasing both facets of Michael Comte's talent.

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