His pronounced artistic talent, his interest in painting and initially sculpture, ultimately led him to photography. After graduating from school (high school diploma in artistic photography), he trained as a photographer, and at the same time attended the Hamburg HFBK (Hochschule für bildende Künste) in painting and graphic arts.
In 1989 he moved to Paris. Following in the footsteps of his photographic idols Helmut Newton and Man Ray, he worked as a freelance photo assistant for various international fashion and cosmetics photographers and began to intensify his interest in the experimental representation of photography. In 1992 he lived in Milan, where his career began. He worked for many different magazines (Vogue, Elle Germany, Madame Germany) and prestigious clients (Calvin Klein, Boss, Garnier, Unilever, Beiersdorf), photographing campaigns for fashion and cosmetics, portraying personalities, celebrities, singers, actors, athletes. In parallel, he always devoted himself to artistic photography, had his first small exhibitions and various publications in art books, received awards for his concepts, participated in various group exhibitions and had a lively exchange with other artists.
In the 2010's he experimented for the first time with the material gold. His work "The Graceful" was the first of its kind. Enthusiastic about its power in the representation, he concentrated on the work with the high-quality material until today.
For his works, all unique pieces, he uses exclusively 24 carat gold, which is printed after a special treatment with a printing process on which the colors are burned onto the gold. With this technique he manages to preserve the character of the gold and its luminosity. Each piece is a unique work of art that only fully develops its effect in reality.
Lionel Machris draws his inspiration from life, the questions of what lies behind it and the observations of how it is dealt with. It is the respect for being, the respect for everything that surrounds us and makes us what we are. Respect for what we do not know. These thoughts are the content of his works.
Currently Lionel Machris lives in Hamburg, Germany and Provence in France.
