Born in 1968, Treacle Town (Macclesfield), the artist lived and worked in Glasgow, Scotland for 27 years before moving to Brighton, England in 2015. His introduction to art came in the form of record covers and by age 11 his driving desire was to design artwork for Adam and the Ants. Raised by fundamentalist Christian parents in Leicester, Shrigley grew up drawing in sketchbooks and notepads, before attending the Glasgow School of Art. He studied Fine Art, but his interest in drawing comedic works, often devoid of much formal craft, made him an outlier amongst his peers.

Shrigley has become a virtuoso in the forming of a deftly crafted mix of dark and light humour channelled via the simplest of forms. His deadpan drawings and acerbic nihilisms speak to universal mores, or largely unspoken melancholy, and through their uncontextualized nature they have unintentionally mirrored the development of the language of the internet, or as Shrigley puts it, “social media parlance.” This overlap has propelled his work into the everyday, carrying that lauded ability to reach both art gallery connoisseurs and your “Susan’s from Accounting,” thereby making Shrigley one of contemporary art’s most successful names.

David Shrigley: “I feel like I’ve become famous for picking my nose … somehow somebody saw me picking my nose and thought, ‘Ah, that’s cool! Nobody else picks their nose like you do!”

Do you have a dry sense of humour? Then David Shrigley is the artist for you. His work encompasses a sense of absurdity through his witty and ironic phrasing, accompanied by naive drawings of animals. His work often explores themes of failure, anxiety, and human interaction in a jovial and light fashion. 

David Shrigley's humour permeates everything he does, describing his journey as: “I feel like I’ve become famous for picking my nose … somehow somebody saw me picking my nose and thought, ‘Ah, that’s cool! Nobody else picks their nose like you do!” British sensibilities do not self-congratulate, and Shrigley’s use of the absurd is present through the creativity and cleverness with which he both describes and creates each of his works.

After growing in popularity since the 1990s through his line drawings, etchings, and colourful screenprints. David Shrigley’s phrases and images have captured the 21st-century zeitgeist. His deadpan drawings and acerbic nihilisms speak to universal mores or largely unspoken melancholy. Shop his collection on FairArt and be sure to find something that will tickle you. 

## About David Shrigley

Born in 1968, Treacle Town (Macclesfield), the artist lived and worked in Glasgow, Scotland, for 27 years before moving to Brighton, England, in 2015. His introduction to art came in the form of record covers, and by age 11, his driving desire was to design artwork for Adam and the Ants. Shrigley grew up drawing in sketchbooks and notepads before attending the Glasgow School of Art. He studied Fine Art, but his interest in drawing comedic works, often devoid of much formal craft, made him an outlier amongst his peers.

Shrigley has become a virtuoso in the forming of a deftly crafted mix of dark and light humour channelled via the simplest of forms. He has had a large role in [contemporary art](https://fairart.com/editorial/guide/contemporary-art/11) with notable exhibitions: from his Turner Prize nomination in 2013, when he subverted the idea of a life drawing class, to the time in 2016 when his 7-meter-high bronze sculpture of a thumbs-up _Really Good_ was placed on the Fourth Plinth at Trafalgar Square, London, between 2016-2018. You can access editions of these legendary works and join the conversation on FairArt to find a David Shrigley piece that would be Really Good for you. 

David Shrigley

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Artist

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I Try to be Friendly (Shark)