The lively figures in Michel Haas's work are reminiscent of the direct and visually powerful pictographs of prehistoric cave paintings. Simplified into monochromatic shadows devoid of any features or details, these anonymous subjects nevertheless convey a sense of vitality and naturalism achieved through their concise and rhythmic contours. Using charcoal, pastel, water, and glue on paper, Haas depicts quotidian moments from life based on his observations of the city and its inhabitants: a woman pushing a stroller, a prancing cat, a man on a bicycle, a couple about to embrace. In his more recent works, Haas has pushed the limits of the paper support to reveal its own expressive potentials. Ripping, kneading, curling, pulling and peeling the paper, the uneven edges and the roughened, textured surface that result brings an additional dimension to his silhouettes of street life, teasing the two-dimensional boundary of drawing.

Haas was born in Paris in 1934. His work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, including ones held at the Musée Départemental de Préhistoire de Solutré, Solutré-Pouilly; Musée du Dessin et de l'Estampe Originale, Graveline; Musée Maillol, Paris; Galeria Luis Burgos, Madrid; Jan Krugier Gallery, New York; Galerie di Meo, Paris; Galerie L'Atelier, Hanoi; and Galerie Pudelko, Bonn; among many others. He lives and works in Paris.

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