Introducing Agnès Lacombe

Agnes Lacombe (or pseudonym AGRAFF)…how can we put it?…you must know her in order to see the resemblance between her and her artworks…Generous, offset yet balanced, without taboos, unclassifiable, a bit wacky (but in an exuberant way), sensitive, fair, and to top it off, perpetually second-guessing herself but without ever doubting, which is an enormous quality in an artist.

Let’s talk a bit about her technic…the main base: canvas on a stretcher frame, yes, but rarely for she prefers metal…bolted aluminum sheeting, corrugated steel sheeting (which she flattens out by rolling over it with her car…) or industrial fuel containers and spray paint cans that she personalizes. But, it can be any object (preferably used) that she will stumble upon…Shop mannequins, shoes (you’ll never find hers in a store), bags, surfboards, cars, anything…

Aside from the main base, and despite having used acrylic paint for a fairly long time, spray paint was a revelation to her…practicing at first, using solely spray paint for her artworks, then going on to mix both spray paint and acrylic. This denoted an important change in her paintings, including her subject matters.

The common denominator in her career, color…which she uses generously, making lively, living, expressive and bright paintings, but which are always harmonious and accurate.

Her introduction to spray paint, however, gave her artworks perspective, a certain perception depth, even a 3D view obtained with special glasses which come with some of her artworks…a stunning result and visual experience…

Regarding the subject matters and her style…Style ? indescribable…street art ?…no…art brut ?…neither…naïve ? definitely not…psychedelic ? perhaps…I’d simply say Lacombe…as I said, she is unclassifiable…

The subject ? Humanly, for all her artworks possess eyes, faces; her canvas stares at you…but ever since she incorporated spray paint in her technic back in 2018, she has been developing and supplementing a different universe with each artwork : an alphabet of signs, codes, figures (with a certain predilection for spermatozoa which is quite recurrent…).

The message ? Let’s be crazy…happy…alive…let’s break from daily codes…let’s enjoy Life.

The sum of these things is to bring to life very colorful artworks; alive and dynamic, even exhilarating, whose global esthetic is always well-rounded, concealing a multitude of details to be gradually discovered…what energy !