
White Elephant,
2021
David Shrigley
Print : linocut
75 x 55 cm 29.5 x 21.7 inch
Second NOT DISPLAYED BLUR TEXT
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About the artwork
Type
Numbered and limited to 125 copies
1 copy available
Signature
Hand-signed by artist
Authenticity
Sold with certificate of Authenticity from the gallery
Invoice from the gallery
Dimensions cm • inch
75 x 55 cm 29.5 x 21.7 inch Height x Width x Depth
Support
Framing
Not framed
Tags
Artwork sold in perfect condition
Artwork location: Germany
This striking artwork showcases a minimalist black and white composition that immediately captures attention. Dominated by a stark white silhouette of an elephant set against a deep black background, the design utilizes negative space ingeniously, evoking a sense of simplicity and elegance. The text “WHITE ELEPHANT” is boldly positioned at the top, reinforcing the theme and adding a layer of context. The elephant, rendered in clean lines, emphasizes its distinct features—trunk, tusks, and massive legs—while maintaining an abstract, almost whimsical quality. The contrast between the white figure and dark backdrop highlights the artwork’s modern aesthetic and its playful yet sophisticated approach. This piece stands out for its ability to convey powerful imagery through minimalistic elements, engaging viewers with its bold contrast and thought-provoking simplicity.
David Shrigley was born in 1968 in Macclesfield, Greatbritain and studied at the Glasgow School of Art. He is best known for his satirical drawings with text, which make fun of and display the banality of everyday situations with black humour. Most of his work consists of drawings, sculptures, installations and paintings. As a big music fan he also designs record covers again and again.
Shrigley describes his own style as “a kind of artistic doodling, coupled with a not-so-beautiful handwriting.” Described by his professors as “too funny,” Shrigley has always felt, however, that he “only wants to draw like this, not any other way.” Serious art can also be funny, and the opposite of serious art is not funny art, but bad art, Shrigley said.
David Shrigley 데이비드 슈리글리 lives outside Glasgow and still draws cartoons for publications such as The Guardian and The New Statesman. Shrigley was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2013, following his major retrospective at the Hayward Gallery in London entitled “Brain Activity”. In early 2014 he was commissioned to design a sculpture for the fourth pedestal of Trafalgar Square. “Really Good” was unveiled in September 2016 for the Fourth Plinth Commission. From 2015 to 2018, the exhibition “Lose Your Mind”, organised by the British Council, travelled to six locations around the world, including Shanghai, China, Seoul and Mexico. In January 2020, Shrigley was awarded the “Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire” (OBE). In March 2020 Ruinart Champagne announced Shrigley as his Artist Carte Blanche for 2020.
Shrigley’s works can be found in major international collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA, the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, USA, the Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany, the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany, the Statens Museum für Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Foundation for Contemporary Art, Vienna, Austria, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Scotland, the Tate, London, England, and the British Council, London, England, the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.
The Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich dedicated the first major solo exhibition to him in Germany in 2014.
FRANK FLUEGEL GALERIE is representing the artist at the Nuremberg and Kitzbuehel locations since 2019.
In January 2022 several new auction records for british artist David Shrigley were set at Auction House Phillips London Evening & Day Editions 19-20 January 2022.
The original prints “Fast Train”, “I have never seen you” or “To Hell with Zoos” besides “Stop Panicking Goose” sold at new record highs.
Also in 2022 David Shrigley (데이비드 슈리글리) was on view at the K Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul/Korea through April 17th , 2022.
About the seller
FRANK FLUEGEL GALERIE • Germany
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Presentation
David Shrigley, born on September 17, 1968, in Macclesfield, is a British visual artist known for his distinctive graphic style and absurdist humor. A graduate in Environmental Art from the Glasgow School of Art in 1991, he lived in Glasgow for 27 years before relocating to Brighton and Devon in 2015.
His work, characterized by intentionally naïve line drawings accompanied by ironic text, offers a sharp and humorous commentary on the absurdities of everyday life. Although drawing is central to his practice, Shrigley also works with sculpture, animation, photography, music, and installations. Among his notable projects are the monumental sculpture Really Good (2016), installed on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London, and the exhibition Pulped Fiction (2023), in which he pulped 6,000 copies of The Da Vinci Code to reprint George Orwell's 1984.
Shrigley was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2013 and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2020 for his services to visual arts. He also received an honorary doctorate from De Montfort University in 2014. His work has been exhibited in prestigious institutions such as the Hayward Gallery in London (Brain Activity, 2012), the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne (Life and Life Drawing, 2014), and the Rose Art Museum in the United States (Life Model II, 2016).
Dedicated to promoting arts education, Shrigley unveiled a giant animatronic praying mantis sculpture, Mantis Muse, at his former school in Oadby in 2024 to highlight the importance of including the arts in school curricula. He advocates for transforming the STEM acronym into STEAM, incorporating the arts alongside science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
His publications include Worried Noodles, a collection of texts set to music by various artists, and What the Hell Are You Doing?, a compilation of his most iconic works. Shrigley continues to shape contemporary art with his unique approach, blending dark humor and social critique.
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