Michel Antony

Artist biography 

Michel Anthony has travelled a long road, literally and metaphorically, starting from a difficult beginning as a boy cutting rubber in Perak, Malaysia, then sailing the oceans of the world, before dropping anchor in Nice, from where he embarked on a well-deserved worldwide career as one of the leading contemporary sculptors.

He began his artistic career working as a personal assistant to prolific fashion designer Ken Scott in Milan from 1979 to 1991. During this time, Michel worked alongside the 'stylist to the stars' in designing fabrics for the fashion world, colour schemes and archiving. The designer noticed his talent and encouraged him to attend the art schools 'Scuola Brera dell'Arte' and 'Scuola Superiore d'Arte Applicata all'Industria Castello'. With his considerable talent, Michel was then accepted into the prestigious Fonderia Del Chiaro in Pietrasanta, Italy. Among those privileged to work there was the Italian sculptor Fernando Botero. In 2005, in a series of three 'firsts', he participated in his first European competition with resounding success, winning first prize for the first sculpture he had ever created. He quickly became sought after and participated in exhibitions and competitions all over France and the world, from Italy to Japan and his native Malaysia, accumulating numerous prestigious awards and prizes over the years. Michel's modern and contemporary style, in both sculpture and paintings, speaks of understated elegance, letting the material shine through and allowing the message to speak for itself.

All his works tell a story, and the red thread running through them is a reflection of Michel himself: his background, life, encounters and philosophy. He has become a worldly, self-taught, multilingual renaissance man, seeing beyond drawers, boundaries and conditions, with a universal love for peace and equality. And this is exactly reflected in his work. Today he works in his atelier in Vieux Nice. Visitors are always welcome here; Michel invariably spends time for a chat with them and shares his love for the arts. His philosophy is that 'art is timeless'. Before starting work on a sculpture, he conceives it mentally, then allows intuition to take over and guide the work towards its realisation.