Michael Coombs MRSS

Michael Coombs studied Fine Art postgraduate degree at the Slade UCL and the Rijksakademie van Beelden Kunsten in the Netherlands, with a two-year residency. He also received the Leverhulme Trust Study Abroad Studentship, which enabled him to exhibit abroad and further his research in ancient papermaking at Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, Lima Peru and U.N.A.M. San Carlos, Mexico.D.F. Mexico.

During his career to date, he has to exhibited widely in the UK and in various parts of the world, including the Royal Academy of the Arts London, London, Mall Galleries in London, Farnham Sculpture Park, Museum of Modern Art in Johannesburg, Carrillo Gill Museum in Mexico City, Istanbul Biennial, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Buenos Aires, MOMART Buenos Aires, Argentina, Museo de Arte de San Marcos, Lima,  All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society, New Delhi, India and Centro Cultural de Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

His work creates spaces that invite the viewer to pause and contemplate what they are truly observing. For him, that moment of realization—when perception shifts and the viewer begins to see beyond the obvious—is essential. It can spark a range of reactions, from humour to discomfort, but above all, it opens a space for reflection. In today’s world, shaped by constant noise and deep-seated preconceptions, people often forget how to truly look.

As someone who is dyslexic, he naturally experiences the world through multiple layers of interpretation. Words, forms, and meanings shift and rearrange; one thing blends into another. This way of seeing deeply informs his work. He is interested in how perception works—and how first impressions can be deceptive.