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From: el art reviews Category: Art Date: 10 March 2009 Time: 05:08 AM Review: The return of Coombs to the London gallery scene was warmly greeted by the Vyner Street Mob. Coombs one of Saatchis second generation of young british artists, with graphic disturbingish ladybird scenes robustly painted, entered the wildnerness by going AWOL and producing installations of painted junk, a style change verboten by the market led gilded age of the commercial gallery artist now passed. For his Fred show he goes back to the figurative, a move which even my mother could tell you is a crowd pleaser. Naked women poussinish with big bushes and life modelish men painted odd colours clash with bright background, katzy trees, and a general sense of weirdville is sustained. The paint is brushed on so the stroke remains visible. The most successful dazzle with in your face Matisse colour, and in a notable exception he even abstracts the figure to good end. Perhaps Coombs will be forced to produce by market exigency more of the same, but one would hope that in his spare time he can puruse the more outre aspects of his output and let the plebs eat paint.