Collection: Robert Combas

Robert Combas (born in Lyon in 1957) is the founder of Figuration Libre, one of the major movements in French painting of the past forty years. Galerie Bonnet-Abelin presents below a group of his works — a homecoming for an artist born in Lyon.

Figuration Libre

Raised in Sète and trained at the Beaux-Arts in Montpellier, Combas invented in the late 1970s a kind of painting that swept hierarchies aside: rock, comics, popular imagery, eroticism, violence and humour fuse in a teeming line and saturated colours. The critic Ben Vautier christened the movement “Figuration Libre” in 1980; with Hervé Di Rosa, Rémi Blanchard and François Boisrond, Combas embodied the generation that answered the New York graffiti artists — Basquiat, Haring, Crash — then exhibited alongside them, notably in the “Figuration Libre France/USA” exchanges.

A contemporary classic

Consecrated by a 2012 retrospective at the Musée d'art contemporain de Lyon — the most visited in the museum's history — and present in major public and private collections, Combas is today one of the most sought-after and most identifiable living French painters. His narrative verve, inexhaustible graphic invention and proclaimed freedom make him a natural bridge between fine painting and popular culture — precisely the territory the gallery champions.

Combas at Galerie Bonnet-Abelin

The gallery presents a group spanning several periods and techniques: acrylics on canvas from the 1990s, early works on paper (1981), rare prints — including an exceptional unique bon à tirer of “Plantage de Femme en Rigolade” (1990) — and a 1985 diptych.

Acquiring a work by Robert Combas

The works can be viewed at the gallery, 36 avenue Foch, Lyon 6ᵉ, by appointment. Each work comes with a certificate of authenticity. The gallery, currently preparing its Geneva location, also assists Swiss and international collectors. Prices and documentation on request: contact@galeriebonnetabelin.com. Leasing solutions for companies.