What the Art Market has to say about Robert COMBAS (1957)

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Gérard Garouste at the Pompidou Center [18 Oct 2022]

“It’s not so important that people know the stories my paintings evoke. They must feel free… allow themselves to be surprised or even shocked. On the other hand, I personally need these subjects, I question them, I work them like the words of an unknown language until they allow me to paint…” – Gérard Garouste, […]

Robert Combas – ascension of one of France’s enfant terrible painters [23 Jul 2019]

A leading light of the French ‘Figuration libre’ movement, Robert Combas began his artistic adventure in the Mediterranean coastal town of Sète in the 1970s. Forty years later, his latest auction record has confirmed him as one of the primary representatives of French painting on the Contemporary Art Market. Born in Lyon in 1957, Robert […]

Christie’s Paris. Latest market trends [11 Dec 2018]

In the insurrectional context that has affected the French capital in recent weeks, Christie’s exhibition rooms were closed the weekend before their Contemporary Art sales on 4 and 5 December. However the results of the sales were generally positive. Christie’s is not afraid of dense sales: on 4 and 5 December it offered a decidedly […]

2017 in numbers… part 2 [19 Dec 2017]

During the month of December, Artprice looks back at some of the art market’s key figures in 2017. This week we focus on May and June which saw particularly dense activity on the high-end market and lots of new records. $57.36 million: new record for Constantin Brancusi On 15 May 2017, Constantin BRANCUSI’s superb golden […]

Combas: spearhead of the Contemporary art market in France [05 Nov 2013]

Despite its 4th position in the global ranking, the French market only represents a very small share of the world’s Contemporary art auction turnover: a little less than 2.8%, behind the United States and China standing shoulder to shoulder with 33.7% each and the United Kingdom with 21.1%.

French records kick off the new season… [02 Oct 2012]

As the new auction season begins, French Contemporary artists have got off to a sprightly start with strong demand in both Paris and New York for a number of the key figures of the French cultural scene since the 1960s and “young” French artists born after 1945.

Art Paris Art Fair – 29 March / 1 April 2012 [27 Mar 2012]

The first rendez-vous of the Parisian art calendar in 2012 is Art Paris Art Fair which will open its doors to the public on March 29 with a number refreshing new features. Nearly 48,000 visitors are expected during the 4-day event.

Bernar Venet – a giant of steel [06 Mar 2012]

Bernar Venet is one of the rare French artists to have achieved international recognition. The fact that he has settled in New York since 1966 is one of the keys to his success. Not long before he moved there, his work was close to conceptual art and radical objectivity, based on mathematics and science.

Art market news in brief… [24 Feb 2012]

Starting today, Artprice will be publishing a fortnightly overview of art market news in just a few words and figures.

French Contemporary Artists [14 Oct 2011]

Every fortnight Artprice provides you with a new or updated ranking in its Alternate-Friday Top Series. The theme of today’s TOP article is the 10 best auction results generated by French Contemporary artists in the period October 2010 – October 2011.

Art Paris Just Art: 31 March – 3 April 2011 [22 Mar 2011]

Art Paris returns to its usual venue, the impressive Nave of the Grand Palais, where it will welcome around 48,000 visitors over four days. Doors will open to the general public on 31 March.

French Contemporary Artists [14 Oct 2010]

Every fortnight Artprice provides you with a new or updated ranking in its Alternate-Friday Top Series. The theme of today’s TOP article is the 10 best auction results generated by French artists in 2010.

Gérard Garouste: painting between madness and the quest for knowledge [28 Jun 2010]

Gérard GAROUSTE is one of those artists who appears to have resisted the ebb and flow of artistic fashions and intellectual trends by continuing to express himself through ‘traditional’ painting.

Free Figuration – Art without complex [13 Sep 2007]

Free Figuration is humour, spontaneity, an uncomplicated language of the people. The birth of the movement dates back to 1981, when Bernard Lamarche-Vadel showed the works of Rémy Blanchard, François Boisrond, Robert Combas and Hervé Di Rosa in his Paris apartment. What do these artists have in common? bright colours and a refreshing style, inspired by cartoons, advertising and daily life….universes accessible to everyone, well away from any artistic elitism.

Contemporary art market: results from the spring/summer season of 2006 [02 Oct 2006]

This month the European art market will gyrate to the rhythm of the contemporary art fairs, with the Frieze Art Fair starting 12 October in London and then the Paris FIAC on 26 October and Art Cologne on 1 November. At the same time, the auction houses will capitalise on these events by organising major concurrent sales of contemporary art.Before the fall season begins, Artprice here provides a brief overview of the ebullient contemporary art market so far this year.

La Force de l’Art at the Grand Palais [03 May 2006]

“La Force de l’Art” opens to the public from 9 May to 25 June, bringing together fifteen exhibitions for the first of a new triennial series of shows intended to restore France to the forefront of the international art scene.

The leaders of the contemporary art market [12 Jun 2005]

Against the backdrop of the Venice Biennale, Artprice has compiled an original ranking of the contemporary artists who have generated the largest volume of turnover on a country by country basis. To this end, Artprice has identified the contemporary artist (born after 1940) who has generated the highest revenue at auction in each of the world’s principal art markets.

Is France’s contemporary art market in crisis? [07 Jun 2005]

On 9 May 2005, François Pinault abandoned his plans to turn Renault’s old factory site in Boulogne-Billancourt into a contemporary art foundation. Worn down by bureaucratic obstructions, he opted instead to take his collection to Venice’s Grassi Palace. It was one of precious few cultural projects in France not to rely on public subsidy and would have created a rival for London’s Saatchi gallery and a great opportunity to promote French contemporary art.

European art collection to be sold at Christie’s Paris [10 Apr 2005]

On 14 April, Christie’s Paris will sell 46 post-WWII works belonging to two European collectors.The sale is expected to generate close to EUR 1.5 million in turnover. Most of the artistic movements featured are French: New Realism, Figuration Libre, Figuration Narrative and a large selection of French post-war abstract art.

French market: contemporary art takes centre stage in October [22 Sep 2004]

The 31st FIAC will take place on 21-25 October at the Porte de Versailles in Paris, and will be attended by 215 galleries – 94 of them new – from 20 countries. This internationally famous art fair is without doubt the essential meeting place in France for contemporary art collectors, professionals and aficionados. It showcases works by established French artists, such as Robert COMBAS, BEN and Claude VIALLAT, as well as providing the opportunity to start a collection by purchasing the work of a promising young artist. Houses such as Cornette de Saint Cyr and Artcurial also use the event to hold specialist auctions.

French contemporary art market under pressure [10 Sep 2003]

FIAC, France’s biggest contemporary art fair, runs from 9-13 October 2003, with 174 galleries and an estimated 70,000 collectors expected to attend. With doors due to open in a few days, Artprice takes the pulse of one of the market’s most volatile segments.

How does the French contemporary art market measure up today? [30 Jun 2003]

Since it reformed its auctioneers, France has increased its share of the auction market from 7% of worldwide turnover in 2001, to 8.6% in 2002. Yet growth in the wider sector has done little for the contemporary art market. France only generated 4.5% of the proceeds from contemporary artworks in 2002.

Contemporary art market: collectors favour local artists at auctions [24 Sep 2002]

The art market is undeniably international. Works are being created and traded world-wide. And increasingly prices are tempting producers and purchasers alike to cross borders.

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