David Shrigley

Anton Kern Gallery is proud to present new works by Glasgow-based artist David Shrigley. Opening on October 12th, this is his first solo show in New York.

David Shrigley embraces odd, idiosyncratic moments that are particular to the human condition with tremendous wit and oblique humor. Episodes of fear, obsession, insecurity and the moral quandaries of contemporary life emerge throughout the work. His prolific output of drawings, photographs and sculpture share the accumulative effect of a cathartic stream-of-consciousness.

Spindly line drawings, akin to the visual language of comics or illustrations, document a pageant of odd moral predicaments. Scrawled text in the form of questions, confessions or explanations often accompanies the drawings. One example of this coupling finds a man hurdling over a cactus with the caption ‘Athlete in Desert’. The faux-naïf veneer of his drawings and texts buffer the gravity of such deviant subject matter.

Painted smiley faces on beach pebbles and a bottle of amber-colored liquid resting on the steps to a garden, labeled “Drink Me” exemplify the sly interactions orchestrated then recorded by the artist in his photographic works. Collectively, his drawings, texts, photos and sculptures convey a range of human hope and affliction by presenting a deft record of the obstacles life presents to everyone.