Robert COMBAS (1957) - Lot 87

Robert COMBAS (1957) Profile of a man, 1985 Felt pen on paper, signed lower right and dated. Dim. H. 29 L. 20.5 cm (view). Robert Combas (b. 1957, Lyon) is a French painter and sculptor and a leading figure in the Figuration Libre movement, which emerged in France in the early 1980s. Brought up in a working-class environment in Sète and trained at the Beaux-Arts in Montpellier, he soon developed an instantly recognizable style, marked by bright colors, abundant forms and an iconography combining popular culture, art history, music and current events. His works, reminiscent of comic strips and graffiti, are populated by moving characters and handwritten texts addressing themes such as love, violence, sexuality, war and mythology, in an aesthetic imbued with humor and raw energy. Co-founder of the Figuration Libre movement with Hervé Di Rosa, François Boisrond and Rémi Blanchard, Combas advocates free, accessible figurative painting as a reaction to conceptual and minimalist art. A prolific artist, he also explores sculpture, ceramics and textiles, now occupying a central place in French contemporary art.