David Shrigley

Inspired by a simplicity of sorts, David Shrigley’s art is recognisable for his flat compositions accompanied by satirical comments on mundane, everyday situations. Perhaps featuring a cartoon elephant, penguins, basketballs or people, Shrigley finds himself influenced by the animated spirit of contemporary visual culture.

David Shrigley’s cartoon-like characters are accompanied by his humorous and witty narratives, leaving the onlooker lost in the satirical world of David Shrigley. Known to challenge boundaries in the artworld, we are thrilled to represent David Shrigley’s art at the Artmarket Gallery.

David Shrigley

Born in Cheshire in 1968, Shrigley started studying art at Leicester Polytechnic in 1987 before heading to Glasgow School of Art for his degree in environment art in 1988, a time when he believed “there wasn't a precedent for people selling work that wasn't figurative painting.” Shrigley believes he is an outsider to the art world for his flat compositions taking on the inconsequential, the bizarre, and the disquieting elements of daily life.

David Shrigley has exhibited across the world, with his work featuring in high profile collections across the globe including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany; Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen; Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany; Thyssen-Bornemisza Contemporary Art Foundation, Vienna; Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh; Tate, London; and The British Council, London.

In 2020, David Shrigley was awarded an OBE for his service to visual arts.

David Shrigley Art

Despite his success with the highly collectable and instantly recognisable satirical drawings, Shrigley also works across other mediums including sculpture, animation, photography, large-scale installations and music.

Following encouragement from friends, Shrigley began to market his drawings via self-published books and by 1995 David Shrigley had become a cult figure among the Young British Artists contingent. The artist's career progressed, with a major milestone In 2003 when David Shrigley animated a music video for Blur before starting a weekly between cartoon for The Guardian newspaper 2005 and 2009. In 2013 Shrigley was shortlisted for the monumental Turner Prize following his major mid-career retrospective at the Hayward Gallery, London entitled ‘Brain Activity'.

Today, David Shrigley’s art is recognisable for his satirical drawings, which explore the mundane through a childlike wonder and incisive sense of humour.