Sophie CRUMB, Aline KOMINSKY-CRUMB En toute liberté

The Huberty & Breyne’s Paris | Chapon-19 gallery is honoured to be hosting an exhibition of original works by Sophie Crumb and Aline Kominsky-Crumb from 30 October to 21 November 2026. This is a fascinating exploration of the bold and intimate world of American underground and autobiographical comics, and their evolution, showcasing the work of a mother and daughter whose artistic exchange is defined by absolute freedom of tone, fierce humour and a keen aptitude for self-mockery. Together, they overturn the conventions of sequential art.

Aline Kominsky-Crumb (1948–2022) was a leading figure of the underground movements of the 1970s and revolutionised the medium. Her deliberately raw, expressionistic and "gritty" drawing style serves an autobiographical project that is totally uninhibited in its focus on family neuroses, sexuality, body image and Jewish identity. Her output over the years also reflects an unconventional career as a phenomenal artist admirably committed to absolute freedom and always eager to put her cards on the table. By portraying herself through her alter ego, "The Bunch", Aline Kominsky-Crumb laid the groundwork for unvarnished autobiographical comics and influenced generations of creators of both genders. The current exhibition also offers viewers an opportunity to discover other areas explored by the artist, ranging from portraiture to landscape. A remarkable collection of her short stories, Sacrée Bunche, was published last year by L’Association.

The daughter of Aline Kominsky and Robert Crumb, Sophie Crumb (born 1981) grew up in a household where she was immersed in drawing. While her lineage is incontestable – she is, after all, her parents’ child – Sophie Crumb has succeeded in breaking free from the weight of the past and in establishing a unique, visceral and deeply sensitive voice while exploring a wide range of graphic techniques, from ballpoint pen and dip pen to ink wash and direct colour. Her work reveals a meticulous observation of reality. Through her sketchbooks, comic strips, and more recent ventures into printmaking, she documents her own transition into adulthood, the lives of those on the social margins, and the changes taking place in the world today.

By showing these original comic plates together, the exhibition offers viewers the chance to witness a rare form of artistic transmission. While Aline Kominsky-Crumb’s work, rooted in the underground comics tradition, is raw, provocative and liberating, Sophie’s is characterised by a corrosive melancholy and an approach that draws on every available resource. In a history of comics that has frequently rendered women invisible – or
pretended to "rediscover" their struggles with each new generation – the works of Aline and Sophie Crumb reflect a continuous aesthetic and political lineage. These original pieces serve as a living archive of a line of women who chose drawing as a space for absolute freedom and uncompromising truth.

Biographies

Aline Kominsky-Crumb was born on Long Island in 1948 and died in France in 2022. She was an artist and author and a major figure in the world of American underground comics.  From the 1970s onwards, she developed an autobiographical body of work that was uninhibited and intentionally irreverent, addressing personal issues, the body, femininity and everyday life with unflinching directness.
She contributed to several iconic publications within the underground scene and co-founded Twisted Sisters, a pioneering anthology dedicated to female comic book creators. Her expressive drawing style and acerbic humour have had a profound influence on the history of alternative and feminist comics. Aline Kominsky-Crumb lived and worked for many years in the South of France.

Sophie Crumb, born in California in 1981, is a French-American illustrator and artist. Her parents were Robert Crumb and Aline Kominsky-Crumb – key figures on the underground comics scene – and Sophie’s childhood was steeped in artistic influences.

Her work, which is largely autobiographical, encompasses drawing, comics, sketchbooks, painting and illustration. In 2002, she published Belly Button Comix, followed in 2010 by Sophie Crumb: Evolution of a Crazy Artist – a volume that traces her artistic development in over three hundred drawings. Her work has been exhibited, inter alia, in New York and Paris, and has also been shown alongside the work of Robert Crumb and Aline Kominsky-Crumb. Sophie Crumb currently lives and works in the South of France, where she moved with her family in 1991.

OPENING 
Thursday 29 October 2026
at 5 p.m
in the presence of Sophie Crumb

Meet-and-Greet and Book Signing
with Sophie Crumb
Friday 30 October 2026
from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

EXHIBITION
From Friday 30 October
to Saturday 21 November 2026

PARIS | Chapon - 19
19 rue Chapon 75003 Paris
Wednesday > Friday 1.30 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Saturday 12 p.m. - 7 p.m.