David Shrigley

the work of UK artist David Shrigley is something you have probably seen, if not on Pinterest then certainly quoted by a friend, or randomly on Tumblr or Facebook or Instagram or wherever. i have saved a number of my favourite pieces as desktop wallpapers just for my own enjoyment. but maybe you don’t know him, or don’t know anything about him, and that’s why i’ve compiled this post. also it just gives me a great reason to look through all of his art that i can possibly find online, which always cheers up my day.

David Shrigley is best known for his distinctive drawing style and works that make satirical comments on everyday situations and human interactions. His quick-witted drawings and hand-rendered texts are typically deadpan in their humour and reveal chance utterings like snippets of over-heard conversations. Reoccurring themes and thoughts pervade his story telling capturing child-like views of the world, the perspective of aliens and monsters or the compulsive habits of an eavesdropper shouting out loud. While drawing is at the centre of his practice, the artist also works across an extensive range of media including sculpture, large-scale installation, animation, painting, photography and music.

one of the most interesting things about his work is that he believes it is only funny by accident, “I always want to make art that is poetic and profound but it mostly ends up being funny instead. I don’t know why.” he explains in this interview,  “I aspire to something probably different than you would perhaps imagine that I do. Like I aspire to some kind of poetry or something… or at least an intelligent comedy. And it’s not really anything to do with the aesthetics in a way. In fact I can’t draw, it’s just sort of an obstacle that I have managed to overcome. I suppose I’m sort of a conceptual artist in a way, or at least I am more of a writer than I am an artist, perhaps.”

he has a number of books that you can buy on Amazon and you can buy some of his prints and other things here. images courtesy of David Shrigley, Stephen Friedman Gallery and Galleri Nicolai Warner.