Michel Comte

Michel Comte (born February 19, 1954) is a filmmaker and a fashion, portrait photographer. He regularly works with Vogue Italia, l'Uomo Vogue, Interview, Vanity Fair etc. He directed and produced The Girl from Nagasaki, his first feature film in 3D, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2014.

Michel Comte
Born (1954-02-19) February 19, 1954
Zurich,Switzerland
NationalitySwiss
Known forPhotography, Films and multi-media art works
Notable work
The Girl from Nagasaki, Light
Spouse(s)Ayako Yoshida
WebsiteStudioMichelComte.com

Early career

Comte was born on February 19, 1954 in Zürich, Switzerland. His grandfather was a Swiss aviation pioneer Alfred Comte. Comte studied in England and in France, then started his career in contemporary art restoration, specializing in the works of Andy Warhol and Yves Klein. He was interested in photography and when moving to Paris in 1979, he was discovered by Karl Lagerfeld, who gave him first international assignment for the fashion house of Chloe. Comte then started working for such publications as Vogue US, Vogue Italia, Per Lui, Vanity Fair, and fashion houses such as Emanuel Ungaro, Chanel, Giorgio Armani and so on.

Career

Comte produced many portraits including Jeremy Irons, Louise Bourgeois, Mike Tyson, Akira Kurosawa, Sharon Stone, Carla Bruni, Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, Miles Davis, Vanessa Paradis. Many of his images are shot for his long-time friend and influencer Franca Sozzani, an editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia. He continues to shoot for Vogue Italia. His advertising projects include Dolce & Gabbana, Nike, Lancôme, Ferrari, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Hennessy, Davidoff, Gianfranco Ferre, Hermes, Trussardi, Pomellato, Celine, Givenchy, Zeiss and so on. He was awarded as Photographer of the year 2000 by PHOTO magazine.

Comte also followed the career of F1 driver Michael Schumacher.

Photo journalism

Comte is involved in photo-reportage and documentary. In collaboration with Pomellato and International Committee of the Red Cross, he contributed to the construction of the orthopaedic center in Kabul. He traveled in conflict areas such as Bosnia, Kosovo, South Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and many others.

Film

Comte directed and produced his first feature film in 3D, The Girl from Nagasaki, retelling of the classic opera, Madame Butterfly, in which Puccini's tragic heroine, emerging from the ashes of the atomic bomb, begins her fateful story of obsession for an American pilot.

Books
  • Michel Comte. Object Carpet, Achermann, 1996
  • Michel Comte: Kontraste/Contrasts, Stern Portfolio Library of Photography, 1998
  • Twenty Years 1979-1999: Faces by Michel Comte - Schirmer/Mosel, 1999
  • Aiko T. - Steidl, 2000
  • People and Places with No Name - Steidl, 2000
  • Charlie Chaplin: A Photo Diary - Steidl, 2002
  • Michael Schumacher: Driving Force - Ebury, 2003
  • Michael by Michel (Michael Schumacher by Michel Comte) - Steidl, 2003
  • The Face of Pace: Scuderia Ferrari - 2006
  • Michel Comte on Women - I-Management, 2006
  • Michel Comte: The Classics - I-Management, 2007
  • Badenfahrt - Ed. Zimmermann, 2007
  • Tibet, Zimmermann, 2007
  • 791: Michel Comte on Michael Schumacher - Ed. Zimmermann, 2007
  • Speed! Michel Comte on Michael Schumacher La Scuderia Ferrari, 2007
  • Michel Comte - 360° - NRW Forum Kultur und Wirtschaft/Museum fur Gestaltung, 2008
  • Michel Comte - Thirty Years and Five Minutes - teNeues, 2009
  • Michel Comte, Crescendo Fotografico, curated by Walter Keller, Carlo Cambi Editore, 2010
  • Michel Comte: Not Only Women, Feminine Icons of Our Times - Silvana Editoriale, 2011
  • The Little Girl from Nagasaki, A Film by Michel Comte, 2014
  • Michel Comte and MILK. A collaboration - Damiani, 2015
  • Light, Michel Comte, Steidl, 2017

Exhibitions
  • Peggy Guggenheim, Venice 1995
  • Wanderausstellung, Germany 2001
  • Centro Internazionale di Fotografia, Verona 2002
  • He Xiang Ning Art Museum, Shenzhen, 2005
  • The Face of Pace. La Scuderia Ferrari. Michel Comte, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich 2006 [1]
  • Michel Comte on Women, Hotel Suvretta House, St Moritz, 2006
  • Pobeda Gallery, Moscow 2007
  • Espace de l’art contemporain, Mouans-Sartoux 2008
  • NRW-Forum, Düsseldorf 2009
  • Young Gallery, Brussels 2009
  • Museum fur Gestaltung, Zurich 2009
  • Not Only Women, Lu.C.C.A. Center of Contemporary Arts, Lucca 2010
  • Crescendo Fotografico, Triennale di Milano, Milan 2011 [2]
  • Grand Palais, Paris, 2011
  • Contemporary Istanbul, Istanbul, 2012
  • Au Premier, HB, Zurich, 2013
  • Kunst Haus, Vienna, 2013
  • Galerie XXI, Geneva, 2015
  • MILK, New York, 2015
  • Michel Comte Neoclassic, Palazzo del Governatore, Parma, 2016 [3]
  • Michel Comte. Light, Maxxi, Rome, 2017 [4]
  • Michel Comte Black Light, White Light, Triennale di Milano, Milan, 2017 [5]
  • Light III, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing 2018 [6]

References
  1. http://dnstdm.de/en/the-face-of-pace-la-scuderia-ferrari-fotografiert-von-michel-comte/
  2. http://old.triennale.org/it/mostre/passate/359-michel-comte-crescendo-fotografico#.Wl36AlQ-fOQ
  3. http://www.comune.parma.it/notizie/Ferre-e-Comte-Dettagli-1.aspx
  4. http://www.maxxi.art/events/michel-comte-light/
  5. http://www.triennale.org/en/mostra/black-light-white-light/
  6. https://galerieursmeile.com/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/past-exhibitions-single/artistinfo/michel-comteiii.html
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.