chad-coombs

Chad Coombs

Chad Coombs lives in both sides of the art and photography world; he’s at home with the insane artistic fringe as well as among the cool and collected commercial set. Coombs has created incredibly subversive artwork that challenges the status quo, raises eyebrows, and makes old ladies wrinkle their noses and exclaim, “Well, I never!” But he has also worked commercially with companies like Fahrenheit Films, shooting the who’s who of Canadian Country Music and winning a CCMA Award in 2010 for Best Album Design (Doc Walker’s ‘Go’). His work itself covers the spectrum, from work with full on digital photography and Photoshop manipulation to painstaking Polaroid pieces with hand-manipulated editing. Coombs is always looking for new ways to challenge himself, say something different, and stretch the mediums themselves.

He has traveled the world, capturing it with his lens — from photographing transgender icon Amanda Lepore, to shooting fashion in Buenos Aires and Bali. He has also had exhibits in Toronto, Berlin, Munich, Indonesia, San Francisco, and Vancouver. People respond to his work because it’s thought-provoking, yet professional — demanding, yet easy on the eye. Coombs is an artist who is able to play and work at the same time, careening back and forth between the two sides of himself, the artistic hellraiser and the commercial professional. Not to mention all the places in between.

You can see Chad’s work here.