Robert Combas (1957) is a French painter and sculptor.
He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Montpellier.
Robert Combas will be at the origin of a new Figurative painting at the dawn of the 1980s, creator of the movement that Ben will call “Free Figuration” a movement bringing together artists such as Rémi Blanchard, François Boisrond, and Hervé di Rosa.
This movement will contrast sharply with the art of the 1970s, serious and austere, and will be in parallel with the American Graffiti movement, and Street Art.
A new world is emerging, full of popular culture and great freedom.
Pessimism, nostalgia for the past, fear of the present, fear of the present, anxiety about the future are proscribed in Free Figuration.
Only the themes of sexuality, love, comic books or rock will be mentioned.
Robert Combas pursues a unique artistic approach that is out of fashion and trends.
Inspired by everyday life, Combas creates an accessible and striking artistic universe, rooted in the energy of his time.
His paintings, rich in detail and symbols, captivate with their vitality and spontaneity.
The art market confirms that Robert Combas is one of the great living monsters of French painting.
“My freedom is expressed in the multiplicity of subjects covered: classical subjects such as portraits, battle scenes, bestiaries, landscapes or settings and others called genre scenes.”
“For me, everything triggers the imaginary: a woman, a historical or current subject, a setting, an animal or an unclassifiable scene springing from my unconscious.”
“There are paintings where I improvise without a subject beforehand, others where I realize an idea that I already have. I can also start a canvas with a subject and carried away by my hand I go elsewhere.”
Robert Combas