Vicky Colombet

Vicky Colombet (b. 1953) is a French-born artist whose abstract paintings explore the intersection of nature, perception, and the sublime. Working across painting, works on paper, photography, and architectural glass, she creates meditative images informed by traditions from Chinese landscape painting to Abstract Expressionism. Raised in Paris and shaped by travels through Southeast Asia and India, she developed a lasting interest in Eastern philosophy and Buddhism, which guides her contemplative approach. A formative period studying with painter Henri Dimier grounded her in the craft of pigment, and she continues to grind and mix her own colors using traditional methods. Colombet uses pigment as both a physical material and a way to express energy and matter. Though her paintings appear richly textured, their surfaces are smooth, mimicking a topographical map. Rather than depicting specific sites, her work invites reflection on space in flux. 

Colombet has lived and worked in Paris, Barcelona, and New York, where she maintains a studio at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts. She is a recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant and the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation grant, recognizing the strength and originality of her practice. Her work has been exhibited at leading institutions including the Musée Marmottan Monet (2020–21, 2022–23), Bund One Art Museum, Shanghai (2020), the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg (2016), and will be featured in an upcoming exhibition at the Musée de Grenoble (2027).