Screen Printing Industry Legend Michel Caza Passes

Michele Caza (1935-2026)

Michel Caza, longtime legend in the world of graphic screen printing, with a strong focus on the creation of original art prints for an astounding roster of artists, has passed at the age of 90.

Another Industry veteran, Rick Roth of Mirror Image, paid thoughtful tribute to Caza in a post on Ink Kitchen, which is featured below. It is a fitting tribute.

I knew Michele Caza, though not well. Our affiliation was through the leadership structure of SGIA, where I served as an employee and he served as a committee member. His insights were forceful and worthy of attention.

Caza's love for the screen printing industry, and the process for which it is named, was palpable -- it seemed to exude from his soul. He was a fount of knowledge for many and served as a proud encyclopedia of the craft.

If there is a key impression of Caza that I am left with, it was certainly his pride. In strong contrast to so many who referred to themselves as "just a screen printer," -- what I think is an unnecessary humbleness -- Michel Caza shouted his profession and his passion from the mountaintops. More purveyors of screen, a process difficult to master, should share his pride.

Micel Caza was much more than just a screen printer. It could be said he was screen printing. He will be remembered as a colleague to some, and an inspiration to so many more.

Rest in Peace Michel Caza
Rick Roth

Michel Caza has passed. He is one of the true giants in the world of screen printing, arguably the greatest figure in the history of screen printing. He helped to start FESPA and was the president for many years, including when I had the distinct pleasure to meet him in the late 90’s.

The legacy of Michel Caza is not only his extensive body of work but also that he had the deepest appreciation for both screen printing as art and screen printing as an exact and essential manufacturing process. Michel Caza (born Cazaumayou) was born on August 2, 1935 in Lyon, France and always said he was enchanted with screen printing from the age of 19.

This is a sad day in our world of screen prints, I hope many tributes roll out.

Here is a list of collaborations I could quickly assemble from the reported over 750 artists he worked with:

Ronald Abram
Yaacov Agam — Israeli kinetic/optical artist
César Baldaccini — French sculptor known simply as “César”
Alexander Calder — American sculptor/mobile artist
Marc Chagall — Russian-French modernist painter
Gérard le Cloarec — French artist
Salvador Dalí — collaborated on Alchemy of the Philosophers (1973), printed on lambskin
Sonia Delaunay — Ukrainian-French abstract pioneer
Leonor Fini — worked with Caza on more than 120 original prints over 15 years
Ernst Fuchs — collaborated on the Original Kabbalah portfolio (1975), using Caza’s raised brushstroke technique
Gérard Fromanger — collaborated on a 1968 portfolio featuring a controversial “bleeding flag” after the Paris student uprisings
Roy Lichtenstein — Pop Art icon
Joan Miró — Spanish surrealist
Richard Mortensen — Danish abstract painter
Taro Okamoto — Japanese avant-garde artist
Dan Reisinger — Scrolls of Fire (1979), a 53-print series confirmed by Duke University Library archives
Guy de Rougemont — French artist
Niki de Saint Phalle — French-American sculptor/painter
Pierre Soulages — French abstract painter, close personal friend of Caza
Kumi Sugai — Japanese-French painter
Victor Vasarely — founder of Op Art; Caza completed eight prints with him
Jean-Claude Flock — 1983 double tribute print to Hergé and Warhol (Warhol later countersigned it)
Peter Fromme-Douglas (Canadian) — Movie-Stars series
Alain Margotton — 2003 nude that won “Best in Show” at the SGIA awards
André François — French illustrator; described by Caza as a dear friend
Alberto Bali — described by Caza as a close friend with a 20-year relationship
Fabienne Verdier — ongoing collaboration extending into Caza’s post-retirement years