Michel Comte was born 1954 in Zurich, Switzerland. The professionally trained art restorer approached photography autodidactically. 1979 Comte received his first international advertising assignment from Karl Lagerfeld for the fashion house of Chloe and moved to Paris.
Work for the American Vogue lead him in 1981 to New York and later on he took residence in Los Angeles. “I have always lived on the edge”, Comte states on his restless persona. “If I no longer have a sense of risk I immediately move on. I probably inherited that from my grandfather.” (Swiss aviaton pioneer Alfred Comte.)
Within a few years, Michel Comte evolves to one of the most sought-after fashion and magazine photographers in the world. For Vanity Fair and Vogue, he portrays numerous celebrities from the world of art, movies and entertainment, ranking from Julian Schnabel, Jermey Irons and Demi Moore to Mike Tyson and Michael Schumacher.
kunst.licht gallery is closed from August 19th to 20th
for the preparation of the new exhibition
which will be launched at 3pm, this Saturday. We are sorry for any inconvenience it causes.
A Survey of the Human Figure in Landscape Photography
What does the human figure stand for in landscape photography?
Behind every image, there is more than “V” signs in our hands and big smiley faces, the use of the human figure in landscape photography can be traced back through the development of European Landscape Painting, the Chinese tradition of Shan Shui and German Romanticism. Also, during the lecture we will be discussing the boundaries between land and human, spiritual and religious, our inner and outer soul.
Our lecturer Peter Dixie, a British Photographer, will also be introducing known photographers from around the world, Kalle Kataila (Finland), Weng Fen (China) and Peter Bialobrzeski (German), in order to elicit the meaning of the human figure in landscape.
The lecture will be held on the 21st of November (Saturday), 3pm at kunst.licht gallery.
Susana Raab‘s upcoming exhibition at kunst.licht (vernissage on Oct. 17th, 3pm) titled “Super America” will be accompanied by a four day hands-on workshop (Oct. 19th – Oct. 22nd) with Susana herself.
Titled “Super Shanghai”, this workshop will give students the chance to work the streets of Shanghai side-by-side with a Pulitzer price nominated professional documentary photographer and photo journalist who also happens to be a just wonderful, warm and amazing human being
The hands on training will be embedded into discussions about technique and equipment, a historical overview and intensive critique of the students’ current work and their assignment to shoot “Super Shanghai”.
The total cost of the workshop will be 2500 RMB per seat and there will be only 12 seats available.
To learn more about Susana Raab click here. Also download the workshop outline in English and Chinese.
See you shooting “Super Shanghai”!
To apply for this workshop, please send us a short statement about yourself and 10-20 low resolution images.
Contact: T 21 624 907 37, doris (at) kunstlicht.sh
On October 17th, 2009 kunst.licht gallery will open a new exhibition with the American photographer Susana Raab. Starting with this introduction we will highlight different aspects of Susana’s work and life in a small series.
Susana Raab is a documentary photographer who began her career as a photojournalist in Washington, DC covering politics. She worked for the New York Times Washington bureau for four years (where she was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of a shooting on Capitol Hill) before attending graduate school at Ohio University School of Visual Communications. While in graduate school, she interned at the Palm Beach Post during the 2004 hurricane season and her work there was part of a team package on the hurricanes that earned the Post the distinction of finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in feature photography.
In Ohio, she began two long-term projects: Consumed: Fast Food in the US; and Off-Season: America at Leisure. These projects have received much recognition from the White House News Photographers Association, The Ernst Haas/Golden Light Awards, the Center (formerly Santa Fe Center for Photography), American Photo, Photo District News, and Photo Espana, among others. Her work is widely exhibited, both nationally and internationally, most recently at the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo in Madrid, and the Noorderlicht Photofestival in the Netherlands.
kunst.licht Photo Art Gallery Shanghai is pleased to announce the inaugural nextkunst.licht group exhibition, on view from Saturday, June 20, through Saturday, September 19, 2009, with an opening reception on Saturday, June 20, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm.
2009 nextkunst.licht exhibition is the first of a series of exhibitions dedicated to seeking out the most promising talent among a young generation of Chinese photographers and giving them the opportunity to present their work before an international audience.
The first edition of nextkunst.licht will feature the works of five artists: Fei Tian, Ge Fang, Sun Yanchu, Tang Like, and Wen Jian.
The exhibition is open to the general public on:
June 20th-September 19th 2009, 11am-7pm
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 20, 4 – 6 pm
Location: 210 North Wulumuqi Road, Shanghai, China
We are excited to let you know that Shen Wei is now a nominee for the prestigious New York Photo Awards 2009 in recognition of his photo book Almost Naked. Limited Edition copies of the book are available for sale at kunst.licht gallery.
The exclusive M1NT Shareholder’s Club in Shanghai provided the perfect backdrop for a very special art afternoon with Shen Wei. Selected guests enjoyed the reception with food creations by head chef Ian Pengelley and the artist’s one hour lecture on the successful series "Almost Naked" and the upcoming "Chinese Sentiment".
kunst.licht Photo Art Gallery Shanghai and photographer Shen Wei (Instructor Bio) are pleased to announce their collaboration on the first photography workshop in Spring 2009.
The workshop is open to practicing photographers and advanced students in photography. Participants will be selected by kunst.licht Gallery curators and Shen Wei based on materials submitted for review. The workshop will take place in the kunst.licht Gallery space in Shanghai from February 5th – 8th, 2009.
To ensure personal attention and individual teaching the workshop is strictly limited to 10 participants. Participants of the workshop must have a sufficient body of work both in quality and quantity to bring to the class critique. The participants will also have the opportunity to be selected as one of the next.kunstlicht artists if applicable.
You can download the workshop curriculum and further details (PDF) in English and Chinese. Please submit a brief biography and 5 – 10 samples of your work (JPEG ONLY) to workshop (at) kunstlicht.sh. The cost of the workshop is RMB 2000. Participants living outside Shanghai are responsible for their own travel expenses and accommodation.
Yang Hong Xun 
Susana Raab‘s upcoming exhibition at kunst.licht (vernissage on Oct. 17th, 3pm) titled “Super America” will be accompanied by a four day hands-on workshop (Oct. 19th – Oct. 22nd) with Susana herself.
Susana Raab is a documentary photographer who began her career as a photojournalist in Washington, DC covering politics. She worked for the New York Times Washington bureau for four years (where she was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of a shooting on Capitol Hill) before attending graduate school at Ohio University School of Visual Communications. While in graduate school, she interned at the Palm Beach Post during the 2004 hurricane season and her work there was part of a team package on the hurricanes that earned the Post the distinction of finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in feature photography.
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