Michel Tamer

Biographie

Michel Tamer is a French-Lebanese artist whose work bridges the worlds of figurative art and contemporary expression. From a young age, Tamer was captivated by movement, anatomy, and storytelling—first through the horses he observed as a child in the mountains of Lebanon, and later through the dynamic worlds of Franco-Belgian comics and the thrill of high-performance automobiles. At the age of three, a chance encounter with a rider on a magnificent white horse sparked a lifelong fascination with equine forms. This early encounter led him to study horse anatomy in depth, frequenting stables Michel Tamer is a French-Lebanese artist whose work bridges the worlds of figurative art and contemporary expression. From a young age, Tamer was captivated by movement, anatomy, and storytelling—first through the horses he observed as a child in the mountains of Lebanon, and later through the dynamic worlds of Franco-Belgian comics and the thrill of high-performance automobiles.

At the age of three, a chance encounter with a rider on a magnificent white horse sparked a lifelong fascination with equine forms. This early encounter led him to study horse anatomy in depth, frequenting stables and immersing himself in historical research, including the works of artists Jean Gillain (Jijé) and Jean Giraud (Moebius), whose mastery of line and historical detail profoundly influenced him.

As a teenager, Tamer’s interests expanded from horses to sports cars, reflecting his passion for motion, mechanics, and perspective. At 19, he moved to Los Angeles to study Transportation Design at the Art Center College of Design. However, he soon shifted his focus to illustration, drawn by his enduring love of wide-open spaces, adventure, and storytelling.

After graduating in 1976, Tamer returned to Lebanon and began his career as a storyboard artist at Leo Burnett, rising to Associate Creative Director and TV producer. The escalating conflict in Lebanon led him to relocate to France with his family, where he founded a successful advertising agency in 1998 and taught courses in communication, advertising, and art fundamentals at leading Parisian schools.

Throughout his professional career, Tamer maintained a parallel life as an artist, exhibiting his paintings, drawings, and sculptures while running his agency. In 2014, he sold the business to devote himself fully to his artistic practice. His recent works include a substantial body reflecting on the Kalevala, the Finnish epic, as well as an ongoing project exploring legendary horses.

Tamer’s art is defined by a relentless pursuit of growth and innovation. He describes his approach as a constant challenge to his technical skills and a refusal to rest on past achievements. Through his work, he seeks to understand the world anew and bring that sense of discovery to the canvas. ...