Philip Colbert
PROFILE
Philip Colbert is a contemporary artist whose distinctive universe moves freely across art history, popular culture, consumer society, and digital culture, extending beyond painting and sculpture into public space, virtual environments, and products. Building upon the legacy of Pop Art established by figures like Richard Hamilton and Roy Lichtenstein, Colbert centers his practice around his alter ego—a cartoon red lobster inspired in part by Salvador Dalí’s Lobster Telephone—constructing a vibrant pictorial world termed “Hyper-Pop,” where Old Master paintings, mythology, emojis, and internet culture collide.
His activities are not confined to gallery walls. He has expanded his media on a global scale through monumental public art exhibitions—featuring giant sculptures emerging in urban spaces from the Grand Canal of the Venice Biennale to London, Rome, and Shanghai—alongside the NFT and virtual world project Lobsteropolis, and high-profile collaborations with diverse brands such as BE@RBRICK (MEDICOM TOY) and Bentley.
Referred to as the “godson of Andy Warhol” and highly praised by prominent collectors and the contemporary art world, including Charles Saatchi, he deploys his unique visual language worldwide while actively engaging platforms like Instagram and other social media. Traversing high art and popular culture, artwork and merchandise, the physical and the digital, Colbert continuously pushes the boundaries of contemporary Pop Art.
BIOGRAPHY
1979 Born in Scotland
M.A. in Philosophy, University of St Andrews
PAST EXHIBITIONS
Solo Exhibitions (Selected)：
2026 “Temple of the Sunflower” Whitestone Gallery, Singapore
2026 “Lobster Beach” Sentosa Island, Singapore
2025 “Lobster Sunflower” Coex Magok, Seoul
2025 “Colour Beyond Time” Whitestone Gallery, Taipei, China
2025 “Lobster Yards” Borough Yards, London
2025 “Eternal Sunshine” K11 East Coast, Shenzhen, China
2025 “The Hyperpop Journey to the Lobster Planet” Butong Circle, Beidaihe, China
2025 “Lobsteropolis in Erice” Erice and Segesta Archaeological Park, Sicily, Italy
2025 “Surrealism in Bloom” Waddesdon Manor, UK
2025 “The Painter” K11 MUSEA, Hong Kong
2025 “Prints and Editions” Art Chosun, Seoul
2025 “The Journey to the Lobster Planet Seoul” The Gallery Hosu, Seoul
2025 “Outdoor Sculptures” Duke of York Square, London
2025 “Coastal Fantasia” Macao Cultural Centre, Macao, China
2025 “PHILIP COLBERT” tHE GALLERY OMOTESANDO, Tokyo
2024 “The Battle for Lobsterpolis” Saatchi Gallery, London
2024 “The Myth of the Lobster Planet” K11 Art Mall, Shenyang, China
2024 “Journey to the Lobster Planet” White Stone Gallery, Singapore
2024 “House of the Lobster” at museo archeologico nazionale di Napoli, Napoli, Italy
2023 “Journey the Lobster Planet Taipei” White Stone Gallery, Taipei, China
2023 “House of the Lobster – from Pompeii to Venice” Patricia Low Venezia, Venice, Italy
2023 “The Lobster Empire in Treviso” 21 Gallery, Treviso, Italy
2023 “Lobsteropolis, Pearl Lam Galleries” M5 Gallery, Tokyo
2023 “Singapore Art Week 2023”, Saatchi Gallery, Singapore
2022 “Journey to the Lobster Planet” Karuizawa New Art Museum, Karuizawa, Japan
2022 “Dreams of Lobsteropolis” a5 Pearl Lam Galleries, Shanghai, China
2022 “The Lobster Empire in Rome” Museo di San Salvatore, Lauro, Rome, Italy
2022 “The Lobster Empire in Rome” Via Veneto, Rome, Italy
2022 “Lobstars in Saint Paul de Vence” De Buck Gallery, Saint Paul de Vence, Italy
2022 “Lobster Wonderland” at IFS in Changsha, China
2022 “Lobstars in Venice” Venice Hotel, Venice, Italy
2021 “Collaboration Paintings +” Sho+1, Tokyo
2021 “Lobster Land” Sejong Museum of Art, Seoul
2020 “Lobsterpolis” Saatchi Gallery, London
2020 “Lobster Land” Whitestone Gallery, Taipei, China
2020 “Lobster Land” Patricia Low Contemporary, GSTAAD, Switzerland
2020 “Lobster Land” Gallery Structura, Sofia, Bulgaria
2019 “Lobster Land” Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow, Russia
2019 “Lobster Land” Gallery Simon, Seoul
2019 “Lobster Land” Whitestone Gallery, Hong Kong
2019 “Hunt Paintings” Saatchi Gallery, Los Angeles
2018 “Hunt Paintings” Saatchi Gallery, London
2018 “New Paintings” Galerie Nichido, Tokyo
2018 “Wavelength” Powerlong Museum, Shanghai
2017 “New Paintings” Saatchi Gallery, London
Group Exhibitions (Selcted)：
2025 “Faces – Expressions Through the Face” Sho+1, Tokyo
2025 “Andy Warhol: My True Story” Newlands House Gallery, Petworth, England
2025 “Flowers: Flora in Contemporary Art” Saatchi Gallery, London
2025 “ART FAIR TOKYO 19” Sho+1, Tokyo
2024 “ART FAIR TOKYO 2024” Sho+1, Tokyo
2023 “artKYOTO” Sho+1, Tokyo
2022 “art stage OSAKA” Sho+1, Osaka
2022 “Illusion of Reality” GINZA TSUTAYA BOOKS FOAM COMTEMPORARY, Tokyo
2022 “ART FAIR TOKYO 2022” Sho+1, Tokyo
2021 “ART FAIR TOKYO 2021” Sho+1, Tokyo
2020 “artTNZ” Sho+1, Tokyo
2019 “ART FAIR TOKYO 2019” Sho+1, Tokyo
SELECTED PROJECTS & COLLABORATIONS
Major Public & Institutional Projects:
Venice Biennale (Grand Canal floating installations), Saatchi Gallery (London), Serpentine Gallery (London), Powerlong Museum (Shanghai), Seoul Museum of Art, National Museum of Singapore, etc.
Brand Collaborations:
MEDICOM TOY (BE@RBRICK), Bentley Motors, Christian Louboutin, Adidas, SEGA, etc.
COLLECTIONS
Public:
Karuizawa New Art Museum, Japan
Wumin Art Centre, South Korea
Power Long Museum, China
Kasama Nichido Museum of Art, Japan
The Wardlaw Museum, University of St Andrews, UK
Sejong City Collection, South Korea
Busan Museum of Art, South Korea
Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow, Russia
The Allentown Museum of Art, USA
Private:
Banca Ifis International Sculpture Park, Mestre
Samsung collection
Hana Bank collection
David Hockney collection
Len Blavatnik collection
Simon de Pury collection
Saatchi collection
Richard and Ellen Sandor’s Family Collection
PUBLICATIONS
2024 House of the Lobster, Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli,
Exhibition Catalogue
2023 Journey to the Lobster Planet, Karuizawa New Art Museum,
Exhibition Catalogue
2022 The Lobster Empire, Il Cigno GG Edizioni
2019 Lobsteropolis, ANC
2019 Lobster Land, Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow, Exhibition
Catalogue
OFFICIAL LINK