David Shrigley - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Life and career

Shrigley was born in Macclesfield

Macclesfield

Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...

on 17 September 1968, the younger of two children born to Rita (née Bowring) and Joseph Shrigley. Shrigley grew up in Oadby

Oadby

Oadby is a town within the borough of Oadby and Wigston, in Leicestershire, England. It is to the east of Wigston Magna, and to the southeast of Leicester. Oadby forms part of the Leicester Urban Area, and is situated on the A6 road....

, Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He attended City of Leicester Polytechnic

De Montfort University

De Montfort University is a public research and teaching university situated in the medieval Old Town of Leicester, England, adjacent to the River Soar and the Leicester Castle Gardens...

's Art and Design course in 1987-1988, and subsequently studied Environmental Art at the Glasgow School of Art

Glasgow School of Art

Glasgow School of Art is one of only two independent art schools in Scotland, situated in the Garnethill area of Glasgow.-History:It was founded in 1845 as the Glasgow Government School of Design. In 1853, it changed its name to The Glasgow School of Art. Initially it was located at 12 Ingram...

from 1988-1991.

Although he works in various media, he is best known for his mordantly humorous cartoon

Cartoon

A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...

s released in softcover books or postcard

Postcard

A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....

packs.

Like the poet Ivor Cutler

Ivor Cutler

Ivor Cutler was a Scottish poet, songwriter and humorist. He became known for his regular performances on BBC radio, and in particular his numerous sessions recorded for John Peel's influential radio programme, and later for Andy Kershaw's programme...

, Shrigley finds humour in flat depictions of the inconsequential, the unavailing and the bizarre – although he is far fonder of violent or otherwise disquieting subject matter. Shrigley's work has two of the characteristics often encountered in outsider art

Outsider Art

The term outsider art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for art brut , a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture; Dubuffet focused particularly on art by insane-asylum inmates.While...

– an odd viewpoint, and (in some of his work) a deliberately limited technique. His freehand line is often weak, which jars with his frequent use of a ruler; his forms are often very crude; and annotations in his drawings are poorly executed and frequently contain crossings-out (In authentic outsider art, the artist has no choice but to produce work in his or her own way, even if that work is unconventional in content and inept in execution. In contrast, it is likely that Shrigley has chosen his style and range of subject matter for comic effect).

As well as authoring several books, he directed the video for Blur

Blur (band)

Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...

's "Good Song

Good Song

"Good Song" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur and is the fourth track on their 2003 studio album Think Tank. In October 2003, the song was released as the third and final single from that album, peaking at #22 in the UK Singles Chart...

" and also for Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

Will Oldham

Will Oldham , better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music...

's "Agnes, Queen of Sorrow". Since 2005, he has contributed a cartoon for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

s Weekend magazine every Saturday. He is represented in Paris by the Yvon Lambert Gallery

Yvon Lambert Gallery

Yvon Lambert Gallery is a contemporary art gallery founded by Yvon Lambert in 1966. There are two locations; one in Paris and the second in New York City.-History:...

, and in 2005 designed a London Underground

London Underground

The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...

leaflet cover.

Shrigley co-directed an animate!-commissioned film with award-winning director Chris Shepherd

Chris Shepherd

Chris Shepherd is a BAFTA nominated television/film writer and director. Born in Anfield, Liverpool in 1967. He is mainly known for combining live action with animation. His work fuses comedy with commentary on the darker side of human nature....

called Who I Am And What I Want
Who I Am And What I Want
Who I Am And What I Want is a 7 minute animated short directed by Chris Shepherd and David Shrigley in 2005. Based on the David Shrigley book of the same title. Kevin Eldon voices the role of the film's main character, Pete. The DVD was released in 2006 with a 12 page booklet with art from the...

, based on Shrigley's book of the same title. Kevin Eldon voiced its main character, Pete. He also produced a series of drawings and T-shirt designs for the 2006 Triptych festival, a Scottish music festival lasting for three to four days in three cities. He has also designed twelve different covers for Deerhoof

Deerhoof

Deerhoof is a musical group consisting of Satomi Matsuzaki, John Dieterich, Ed Rodriguez and Greg Saunier.-Origins:In 1992, Greg Saunier, having recently graduated with a degree in music composition from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, joined a short-lived San Francisco quartet called Nitre Pit, on...

's 2007 record, Friend Opportunity
Friend Opportunity
Friend Opportunity is the eighth full length album from indie rock trio Deerhoof. It was released on January 23, 2007 on Kill Rock Stars, ATP Recordings and 5 Rue Christine. It features twelve different album covers by the Scottish artist David Shrigley...

.http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/39950/New_Deerhoof_Album_to_Feature_12_Covers

The name of Jason Mraz

Jason Mraz

Jason Thomas Mraz , also known as Mr. AZ and Mr. Raz, is an American singer-songwriter. Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which contained the hit single "The Remedy ", in 2002, but it was not until the release of his second album, "Mr. A-Z", in 2005, that Mraz achieved...

's third studio album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
The Latin American and Spanish re-release of the album includes a Spanish version of the song Lucky which was recorded by Mraz and Mexican singer Ximena Sariñana.-Critical reception:The album overall, gained positive to mixed reviews...

is a reference to a piece of art by Shrigley which caught Mraz's attention while he was travelling through Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

.

Shrigley is a lifelong supporter of Nottingham Forest FC.

Shrigley is represented by Stephen Friedman Gallery, London

Music

In 2006, Shrigley's first spoken-word album Shrigley Forced To Speak With Others was released by Azuli Records.
In October 2007, Tomlab

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 Final Fantasy, Ninja High School, and The Hank...

released Worried Noodles, a double-CD of artists including David Byrne

David Byrne

David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...

, Islands

Islands (band)

Islands is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2005 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and currently based in Brooklyn, New York.-Return to the Sea:In mid-2005 Islands recorded a debut album titled Return to the Sea, which was released in April 2006...

, Liars

Liars (band)

Liars is a three-piece band formed in 2000 consisting of Angus Andrew , Aaron Hemphill , and Julian Gross...

, Grizzly Bear

Grizzly Bear (band)

Grizzly Bear is a Brooklyn-based indie rock band, composed of Edward Droste , Daniel Rossen , Chris Taylor and Christopher Bear . The band employs traditional and electronic instruments...

, Mount Eerie

Mount Eerie

Mount Eerie is an Anacortes, Washington-based band fronted by Phil Elverum. Elverum is the principal member of the band, but he has collaborated with many other musicians on his records.-History:...

, R. Stevie Moore

R. Stevie Moore

Robert Steven Moore is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. In addition to having numerous albums released on labels around the world, the prolific Moore has self-released over 400 cassette and CD-R albums since 1968, as well as dozens of home videos, mostly through the R. Stevie Moore...

and Final Fantasy

Owen Pallett

Michael James Owen Pallett is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist from Toronto, Ontario. He won the 2006 Polaris Music Prize for the album He Poos Clouds....

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.

His spoken-word readings are used on the Late Night Tales
Late Night Tales
Late Night Tales and its predecessor Another Late Night are the names of two related series of artist curated compilation albums released on Late Night Tales independent record label...

series of recordings, with a track from Shrigley closing each album.

Solo exhibitions

2010

Museum M, Leuven, Belgium

2009

Kunsthalle Mainz, Mainz

2008

Museum Ludwig, Cologne
BQ, Cologne
Anton Kern Gallery, NYC
Baltic, Gateshead, England
CASM, Barcelona

2007

CAB, Burgos, Spain
Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen
Malmö Konsthall, Malmo, Sweden
Stephen Friedman, London

2006

Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris
DCA, Dundee

2005

BQ Galerie, Cologne
Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen
Anton Kern Gallery, New York

2004

Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris
Stephen Friedman, London
Francesca Pia, Bern

2003

Galerie Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen
BQ Galerie, Cologne
Kunsthaus, Zurich

2002

Anton Kern Gallery, New York
Domaine de Kerguehennec, France*
Camden Arts Centre, London
UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles

2001

Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris
CCS Museum, Bard College, New York*
Stephen Friedman Gallery, London

2000

Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen

1999

Francesca Pia, Bern
Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris
Stephen Friedman Gallery, London

1998

Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen
Bloom Gallery, Amsterdam
Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris

1997

Hermetic Gallery, Milwaukee
CCA, Glasgow
Francesca Pia, Bern
Stephen Friedman Gallery, London
Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen
Photographers’ Gallery, London

1996

Catalyst Arts
Catalyst Arts
Catalyst Arts is Belfast's primary non-profit artist led organisation.Catalyst Arts was formed in 1993 in response to what was seen as a cultural vacuum...

, Belfast

1995

Transmission Gallery, Glasgow

Publications

2011

What The Hell Are You Doing?: The Essential David Shrigley, W. W. Norton & Company (forthcoming)