David Shrigley
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David John Shrigley (born 17 September 1968) is a British visual artist. He lived and worked in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Scotland for 27 years before moving to
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, England in 2015.


Early life and education

Shrigley was born 17 September 1968 in
Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...
,
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
. He moved with his parents and sister to
Oadby Oadby is a town in the borough of Oadby and Wigston in the county of Leicestershire, England. Oadby is a district centre south east of Leicester city centre on the A6 trunk road. Leicester Racecourse is situated on the border between Oadby ...
,
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
when he was two years old.Alt URL
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/ref> He took the Art and Design Foundation course at
Leicester Polytechnic De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was ta ...
in 1987, and then studied environmental art at
Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...
from 1988 to 1991. Talking about his final degree show, Shrigley later told ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
s Becky Barnicoat, "I thought my degree show was brilliant, but the people who were marking it didn't. I got a 2:2. They didn't appreciate my genius. I didn't sell anything at the show – it was 1991, before the YBAs. There wasn't a precedent for people selling work that wasn't figurative painting". Before becoming a full-time artist, Shrigley worked as a gallery guide at the CCA in Glasgow.


Work

As well as authoring several books, he directed the video for Blur's "
Good Song "Good Song" is a song by English band Blur and is the fourth track on their seventh studio album, ''Think Tank'' (2003). In October 2003, the song was released as the third and final single from that album, peaking at number 22 on the UK Sin ...
" and also for Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's "Agnes, Queen of Sorrow". In 2005 he designed a
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
leaflet cover. Since 2005, he has contributed a cartoon for ''The Guardian''s ''Weekend'' magazine every Saturday. Other projects have included the album ''Worried Noodles'' (Tom Lab, 2007) where musicians interpret his writings as lyrics, including collaborations by
David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...
,
Hot Chip Hot Chip are an English synthpop band formed in London in 1995. The group consists of multi-instrumentalists Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard, Al Doyle, Owen Clarke, and Felix Martin. They are occasionally joined by former member Rob Smoughton for ...
, and
Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Fr ...
. Shrigley co-directed a short film with director Chris Shepherd called '' Who I Am And What I Want'' (2005), based on Shrigley's book of the same title, with
Kevin Eldon Kevin Eldon (born 2 October 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He featured in British comedy television shows of the 1990s including ''Fist of Fun'', '' This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', '' Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge' ...
voicing its main character, Pete. Shrigley also produced a series of drawings and t-shirt designs for the 2006
Triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...
festival, a Scottish music festival lasting for three to four days in three cities. He also designed twelve different covers for
Deerhoof Deerhoof are an American musical group formed in San Francisco in 1994. They currently consist of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Beginning as an improvised noi ...
's 2007 record, ''
Friend Opportunity ''Friend Opportunity'' is the eighth studio album by American indie rock band Deerhoof. It was released on January 23, 2007, on Kill Rock Stars, ATP Recordings and 5 Rue Christine. Twelve different front covers were designed for the album by th ...
''. In the same year he also designed the title sequence for the film ''
Hallam Foe ''Hallam Foe'' is a 2007 British drama film directed by David Mackenzie (director), David Mackenzie based on Hallam Foe (novel), the novel written by Peter Jinks. The film was released in the United States as ''Mister Foe''. The screenplay was ...
'', as well as the drawings and the writing in Hallam's on-screen diaries. In 2014, Jonathan Jones reviewed Shrigley's work ''Brass Tooth'', writing, "David Shrigley must have had a big, toothy grin when he created multiple editions of his sculpture ''Brass Tooth'', which goes on sale for £1,200 a pop at the London art fair this week. It is a cast of a single tooth – including the roots – and is typical of Shrigley's sly, subversive, humorous art in how it brings a modern art cliche crashing down to Earth". In 2015, he designed "
Kingsley Kingsley may refer to: People * Kingsley (given name) * Kingsley (surname) Places Australia * Kingsley, Western Australia Canada * Rural Municipality of Kingsley No. 124, Saskatchewan England * Kingsley, Cheshire * Kingsley, Hampshire *Kingsley ...
", a mascot for Scottish football team Partick Thistle as part of a sponsorship deal. The mascot's design was the object of some amusement, with Scottish
BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...
reporter Jamie Ross describing it as "based on every nightmare I had as a child." Shrigley also undertook a residency at Auckland's Two Rooms in 2015, during which he painted for the first time since his graduation from The Glasgow School of Art in 1991. He said that the residency presented ‘an opportunity to explore a different medium and explore what you can do with “that” versus what you do with “this”.’ Shrigley's sculpture ''Really Good'' was installed on Trafalgar Square's
Fourth plinth The Fourth plinth is the northwest plinth in Trafalgar Square in central London. It was originally intended to hold an equestrian statue of William IV, but remained bare due to insufficient funds. For over 150 years the fate of the plinth was d ...
in September 2016 until March 2018. The bronze cast of a fist with an out-of-proportion thumbs-up was the winning commission for the ''Fourth'' ''Plinth'' ''Project,'' which has been inviting artists since 1999 to make a proposal for the empty plinth, originally intended to hold an equestrian statue of
William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...
that was never made. "I made a drawing of an elongated thumb that said everything is good and I wrote some text that sounded like some sort of weird political satire: ''If'' ''we'' ''make'' ''this'' ''sculpture,'' ''we'' ''can'' ''make'' ''the'' ''world'' ''a'' ''better'' ''place'' ''through'' ''some'' ''kind'' ''of self–fulfilling'' ''prophecy''.” In 2019, he designed the yellow and red card of the AS Velasca. Shrigley was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(OBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to visual arts.


Exhibitions

In 2020, Shrigley released a body of work entitled 'Lockdown Drawings'. 340 pieces of art inspired by the UK's coronavirus lockdown in spring 2020 were displayed in the Stephen Friedman Gallery. Recent notable solo exhibitions include ''Do Not Touch the Worms'', Copenhagen Contemporary, Denmark (2020); Exhibition of Inflatable Swan Things, Spritmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden (2018); ''David Shrigley'',
Hall Art Foundation The Hall Art Foundation is an organization, founded in 2007 by Andrew Hall (hedge fund manager), Andrew Hall and Christine Hall, which oversees two Contemporary art, contemporary art museums, one in Vermont and one in Germany, named Kunstmuseum Sch ...
, Reading, Vermont, USA (2017); ''Life Model II,''
Rose Art Museum The Rose Art Museum, founded in 1961, is a part of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, US. Named after benefactors Edward and Bertha Rose, it offers temporary exhibitions, and it displays and houses works of art from the permanent col ...
, Waltham, Mass., USA (2016); ''David Shrigley: Life and Life Drawing,''
National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...
, Melbourne, Australia (2014); ''David Shrigley: Brain Activity,'' YBCA, San Francisco (2012) ''Animate,'' Turku Art Museum, Finland (2011);
Kelvingrove Museum Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a museum and art gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. It reopened in 2006 after a three-year refurbishment and since then has been one of Scotland's most popular visitor attractions. The museum has 22 galleries, h ...
, Glasgow International Festival of Visual Arts, Glasgow, Scotland (2010); ''New Powers,'' Kunsthalle Mainz, Germany (2009); David Shrigley,
Museum Ludwig Museum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany, houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from Pop Art, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe. It holds many works by Andy Warhol and Roy ...
, Cologne, Germany (2008);
Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art (also known simply as (the) Baltic, stylised as BALTIC) is a centre for contemporary art located on the south bank of the River Tyne in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. It hosts a frequently changing variety ...
, Gateshead, UK (2008); ''Everything Must Have a Name,''
Malmö Konsthall Malmö Konsthall is an exhibition hall located in the center of Malmö, Sweden. It is one of the largest exhibition halls for contemporary art in Europe. Building The hall was designed by architect Klas Anshelm (1914-1980), who was inspi ...
, Malmo, Sweden (2007) and ''David Shrigley,''
Dundee Contemporary Arts Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) is an art centre in Dundee, Scotland, with two contemporary art galleries, a two-screen cinema, a print studio, a learning and public engagement programme, a shop and a café bar. The director of DCA is Beth Bate ...
, Dundee, Scotland (2006).David Shrigley – Arms Fayre, 8 February 2012 – 10 March 2012
Stephen Friedman Gallery, London.
Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz (; born June 23, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single " The Remedy (I Won't ...
took the name of his album ''
We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. ''We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.'' is the third studio album by American musician Jason Mraz, released on May 12, 2008. The album peaked at number three in the ''Billboard'' 200, making it Mraz's highest-peaking album at the time. Mraz took ...
'' from a work by Shrigley. In January 2016, Shrigley's work was part of a
British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...
-organised international touring exhibition. Previewing the touring ''David Shrigley: Lose Your Mind'' exhibition before it opened in
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
, Mexico, BBC Arts said: "Best known for his crudely composed and mordantly humorous cartoons, David Shrigley is a highly popular British artist Featuring works as diverse as cartoonish ceramic boots, doodle-like drawings and a headless, stuffed ostrich, the exhibition highlights Shrigley's lively, irreverent imagination in full flow". In the same month, he contributed to the Liverpool Provocations event in
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
's city centre.


Publications

*''This Is A Paper Trinket For You To Wear'' *''How Are You Feeling'' *''To Make Meringue You Must'' *''Man in a Room'' *''Do Not Bend'' *''The Book of Shrigley'' *''Ants Have Sex in Your Beer'' *''Slug Trails'' *''Merry Eczema'' *''Blanket of Filth'' *''Enquire Within'' *''Let Not These Shadows Fall Upon Thee'' *''Err'' *''Drawings Done Whilst on the Phone To Idiot'' *''Why We Got The Sack From The Museum'' *''Centre Parting'' *''Order of Service'' *''To Make Meringue You Must Beat The Egg Whites Until They Look Like This'' *''Blank Page And Other Pages'' *''The Beast Is Near'' *''Hard Work'' *''Leotard'' *''Joy'' *''Yellow Bird With Worm'' *''Human Achievement'' *''Who I Am And What I Want'' *''Let's Wrestle'' *''Rules'' *''Kill Your Pets'' *''It Is It'' *''Blocked Path'' *''Photographs with Text'' *''Worried Noodles – The Empty Sleeve'' *''Hand'' *''Red Book'' *''What The Hell Are You Doing? The Essential David Shrigley'' *''Fragments of Torn Up Drawings'' *''Weak Messages Create Bad Situations''


Music

In 2006, Shrigley's first spoken word album ''Shrigley Forced to Speak With Others'' was released by Azuli Records, under their Late Night Tales label. In October 2007,
Tomlab Tomlab is a German record label based in Köln. It has released works by bands such as The Books, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Deerhoof, Thee Oh Sees, Les Georges Leningrad, and acts associated with Blocks Recording Club, such as Fi ...
released ''Worried Noodles'', a double CD of artists including David Byrne,
Islands An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
, Liars,
Grizzly Bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...
,
Mount Eerie Mount Eerie is the musical project of American songwriter and producer Phil Elverum. Elverum (also of The Microphones) is the principal member of the band, but has collaborated with many other musicians on his records and in live performances. ...
,
R. Stevie Moore Robert Steven Moore (born January 18, 1952) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter who pioneered lo-fi (or "DIY") music. Often called the "godfather of home recording", he is one of the most recognized artists of the cas ...
and
Final Fantasy is a Japanese video game, Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and ...
putting Shrigley's 2005 book of the same name to music. Moore went on to record an entire album of new songs set to Shrigley's ''Worried Noodles'' lyrics called ''Shrigley Field''.


Awards

Shrigley was nominated for the 2013
Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award) ...
. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Leicester's
De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...
at a ceremony on 17 July 2014.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shrigley, David 1968 births Living people People from Macclesfield People from Oadby Alumni of De Montfort University Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art English contemporary artists Officers of the Order of the British Empire