Michael Combs

Michael Combs mixes and matches symbols of masculinity, sexuality, and Americana in a darkly humorous analysis of contemporary culture and gender politics. With a nod to Dada and Marcel Duchamp, Feminist Art and Nancy Grossman, Combs’ sculptures and installations employ everyday items in uncanny combinations. The son of a commercial hunter, Combs often explores paradoxical themes of life and death, and masculinity and femininity, through absurdist objects that reference taxidermy animals and sporting trophies. In his best-known series, deer and moose busts are outfitted with S&M masks.