-
In Brian Griffiths’ work traditional genres of sculpture are re-thought through the assisted readymade or the fabricated found object. Trading on second-hand ‘conversation pieces’ and their malleability in terms of evoking imagined secret histories, Griffiths views art as a means of escape; a repeated and heroic attempt to leave the here and now and be transported to other places. His sculptures make their appearances as distinctive players: whilst a giant bear head, with its roughly patched concrete surface and painterly graphic face has the stoic air of a now defunct old school entertainer, a wooden box with its glimpse of a pair of shiny tan brogue shoes is enigmatic in its quietness. Elsewhere a twisted and crushed lump of a car becomes a ludicrous showy beast. For Griffiths, conceptual rigor is bound up with processes of making, so that overlooked everyday materials are selected for their potential in opening unto particular and evocative experiences. He uses the histories contained in his objects and materials to enquire into ideas of the flawed and the failed. Objects chosen are often of a bygone era, once aspirational new commodities now fallen; superseded and obsolete. He uses a stark bluntness to ask the viewer to scrutinize received ideals: his objects often deliberately lack the refinement of ‘good form’. Blown out of all proportion, they are jammed uncomfortably into spaces they do not fit, at once fatuous and melancholic. Aspirational, and yet tragically flawed, Griffiths’ works are charged with humour, discontent and sadness.
-
Lives and works in London
1968Born in Stratford-Upon-Avon
1989 – 1992University of Humberside
1995 – 1996Goldsmiths College
Solo Exhibitions (selected)
2016Bill & Vilma, Vilma Gold, London
2015Brian Griffiths: BILL MURRAY: a story of distance, size and sincerity, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead
2013Borrowed World, Borrowed Eyes, Tramway, Glasgow
These Foolish Travels, commission for Norwich Castle, UK. Norwich Castle Museums & Art Gallery - Part of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival
SHORTCUTS & DIGRESSIONS: Contemporary Sculpture from the Arts Council Collection, Curated by Brian Griffiths, Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery2012The Kidd, Foreground Projects, Frome, Somerset
On: A Re-imagining of the Blackpool Illuminations, Grundy Gallery, Blackpool The Invisible Show (An Epilogue), Galeria Luisa Strina, São Paulo
The Invisible Show, Vilma Gold, London2011In the Darkness of their Pockets, Grimm Gallery, Amsterdam
Outrageous Fortune: Artists Remake the Tarot, Focal Point Gallery, Southend2008Another End, Vilma Gold, London
2007The Only Living (Or Your Lonely Saucer Eyes), Greenland Street, A Foundation, Liverpool
Life is a Laugh, Platform for Art Commission, London
Beneath the Stride of Giants, Fabrica, Brighton
The Man Who Loved Islands, Arnolfini, Bristol2005My Beloved Traitor, Galeria Luisa Strina, Sao Paolo, Brazil
2004Some Unaccountable Blindness, The Breeder, Athens
Beneath the Stride of Giants, Camden Arts Centre, London (cat.)2003When the World Was Young, Vilma Gold, London
2002Brian Griffiths, Galeria Luisa Strina, Sao Paolo, Brazil (cat.)
Brian Griffiths, MCMagma, Milan2001When Few Were Charmed, Vilma Gold, London
1999Once Upon a Star, One in the Other, London
1997Brian Griffiths, Habitat, London
Group Exhibitions (selected)
2016Big Birmingham Art Project, Library of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Big Birmingham Art Project, Birmingham Museum and Gallery, Birmingham, UK2014Nuite Americaine, Office Baroque, Brussels
Panda Sex, curated by Tom Morton, Athens, Greece
BP Walk Through British Art, London, United Kingdom2013Sculpture al Fresco III, Marcelle Joseph Projects, Great Fosters Hotel, Egham, Surrey
V22 Collection Show, London
Folk Devil, David Zwirner, NY2012No Now!, Space Station 65, London
British Modern Remade, British Arts Council, London
Ipswich Art School, Ipswich
The Curator’s Egg - Altera Pars, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London2011Outrageous Fortune: Artists Remake the Tarot, Hayward Touring Exhibition, Focal Point Gallery Friendship of the Peoples, Simon Oldfield, London
Fountain Show, Dispari and Dispari Project, Italy
The Extension, Vilma Gold, London2010Recent British Sculpture, Grimm Gallery, Amsterdam
Extra Ordinary, Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool
Rude Britannia: British Comic Art, Tate Birtain, London
British Art Show 7: In the Days of the Comet, Hayward Touring Exhibition, touring to: Nottingham (Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham Castle Museum, New Art Exchange), London (Hayward Gallery), Glasgow (Centre for Contemporary Art, Gallery of Modern
Art, Tramway), Plymouth (Peninsula Arts, Plymouth Arts Centre, Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, Royal William Yard, Plymouth College of Art) (cat.)
Nothing is Impossible, The Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh
Magic Show, Hayward Touring, Quad, Derby, Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool, Tulie House (cat.) Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle, Chapter, Cardiff, Pump House Gallery, London
The Library of Babel/In and Out of Place, Zabludowicz Collection/ 176, London (cat.)
Beating the Bounds, Art Now, Tate Britain, London2009Jean-Luc Blanc, Opera Rock, curated by Alexis Valliant, CAPC, Bordeaux (cat.) V22 Presents: The Sculpture Show, London
2008100 Years, 100 Artists, 100 Works of Art. Art on the Underground, London GSK Contemporary, Event Horizon, Royal Academy, London
Forgotten Bar Project, Galerie im Regierung, Berlin
Walls Have Ears, Man & Eve, London
Lustwarande 08 – Wanderland, Baroque Forest de Oude Warande, Fundament Foundation, Tilburg, The Netherlands
The Brotherhood, Kunstbunker, Nuremberg
The Krautcho Club/In and Out of Place, 176 Gallery, London
The Arrivals: Brian Griffiths and Matthew Draper, Royal Acedmy Schools, Hornsey2007Still Life, Still: Contemporary Variations, T1+2 Gallery, London
Luke Gottelier, Kate Macgarry, London. Collaboration with Luke Gottelier and Tom McCarthy on ‘Jungle Shelf’.2006Brian Griffiths & Sophie von Hellermann, Vilma Gold Project Space, Berlin Our Marvellous Ambition, Vilma Gold, London
60th Anniversary Exhibition, Gimpel Fils, London
Hotspotz, Kunst Der Gegenwart, Austria (cat.)
Metropolis Rise: New Art from London. Touring exhibition. Shanghai and Dashanzi International Art Festival (DIAF) Beijing (Cat)
‘Norberg-Vastmanland-Bergslagen-Sweden-Scaninavia-27 July 2006 At Lunchtime’
Sweden (Cat)
V22: Collection, New Acquisitions, V22, London
Mongrel, Gone Tomorrow Gallery, London
Scenery Presents: Picnic Area (Dumb interior), Room, Bristol2005The Hardest Thing to Draw is a Kiss, The Gallery at Wimbledon School of Art, Wimbledon (cat.) Showcase, South London Gallery, London and Talbolt Rice Gallery, Edinburgh (Cat)
Be Ready, Heart, for Parting, New Endeavour, Great Eastern Hotel, London
Think and Wonder, Museum of Childhood, London
Drawing Two Hundred. Drawing Room. London2004Nocturnal Emissions, The Groninger Museum, Groninger
Shapeshifters, M-PROJECT, Paris
Death and Magic, Keith Talent Gallery, London
Fluxo De Arte, Belem Museum of Modern Art, Belem (cat.) Galleon and Other Stories, The Saatchi Gallery, London New Blood, The Saatchi Gallery, London
Tonight, Studio Voltaire, London
Moon Absinthe, Rotterdam
Collage, Bloomberg Space, London
Universal Outstretch, Flaca, London2003Strange Messengers, The Breeder, Athens
The Lost Collection of An Invisible Man, The Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle2002The Necessary Enemy, Bart Wells Institute, London
2001OPEN PLAN P3–The Marathon, Alphadelta Gallery & Artio Gallery, Athens
Tirana Biennale, Albania, UK Section
Sages, Scientists and Madmen, One in the Other, London
Just History, Tal Esther Gallery, Tel Aviv
Hemorrhaging of States, Tent, Rotterdam
Beck’s Futures 2, (touring exhibition), Institute of Contemporary Art, London. The Fruitmarket, Edinburgh & Sothebys, New York
City Racing 1988-98: A Partial Account, Institute of Contemporary Art, London2000Brian Griffiths and Kenji Yanobe, Barbican Centre, London
We Live A Life Of Endless Pleasure, with David Thorpe, Film Club, Glasgow Include me out, Unit 6 Provost Street, London
Heart and Soul, Sandoni Rey, Los Angeles
London Orphan Asylum, Mostra D’Arte Contemporanea, Milan Don’t Worry, Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, London
These Epic Islands, Vilma Gold, London1999Nice To Meet You, Kunstbunker, Nurmberg
Heart & Soul, Long Lane, London
The Manchurian Candidate, Ciara Ennis and David Goldenberg, London Neurotic Realism (Part 1), The Saatchi Gallery, London1998Cluster Bomb, Morrison Judd Gallery, London
Kling Klang, Frigate HMS Plymouth in association with The Tate Gallery Liverpool, Liverpool East International, Norwich School of Art, Norwich
Ultra Gnost, Sali Gia Gallery, London
Project V – “The Future is for the Young”, Galleri Axel Morner, Stockholm1997Hey, You Never Know, Kenny Schachter, New York
New Contemporaries 97, Cornerhouse, Manchester; Camden Arts Centre, London; CCA, Glasgow. Selected by Hans Ulrich Orbrist, Gillian Wearing & Sarat Maharaj.
Show 47, City Racing, London
Gonzo, Bethnal Green old Police Station, London
Transmat, One in the Other, London
Group Show, Deutsch Britische Freundschaft, London
Transatlantic, Incubator, London & Konstakuten, Stockholm
Cardboard Box and Tape, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland, curated by Kirsty Ogg
Low Maintenance, Hales Gallery, London
Debonair Goofers, Conductors Hallway, London
Life/Live, Musee d’art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris1996The Dean Street Garage Sale, Soho, London, curated by Paul Morrison Angels, Standpoint Gallery. Shoreditch, London
Selected Bibliography Publications
2010Crummy Love, Brian Griffiths, Koenig Publishing
British Art Show 7: In the Days of the Comet, Hayward Publishing, London, 2010, p.82 - 85 Lewison, Cedar, Batchelor, Tim and Myrone, Martin, RUDE BRITANNIA - British Comic Art, Tate Publishing, London, 2010, p.122-1232009Magic Show. Hayward Touring, Hayward Publishing, London, 2009
Vaillant, Alexis, Jean Luc Blanc, Opera Rock, CAPC Musee d’Art Contemporain de Bordeaux, exihibtion cat., Steinberg Press, 2009
Mono: Issue 1, Ubiquitous Embodiment, curated by Steve Bishop, London, 2009
Herbert, Martin, ‘Brian Griffiths - Interview’ Another Shitty Day in Paradise, Bart Wells Institute, ed.Francis Upritchard and Luke Gottelier, Dent-De-Leone, London, Spring, 20092008Van Grinsven, Laura, Lustwarande 08 – Wanderland, Fundament Foundation, Exhibition Catalogue, 2008 The Arrival: Brian Griffiths & Matthew Draper, Royal Academy Gallery Schools Publication, 2008
2007Platform for Art: Art on the Undergraound, Black Dog Publishing, London, 2007 A Bulletin: Issue Two, Greenland Street, Autumn, A Foundation, 2007
2006Hotspots, Exhibition Catalogue, Kunst Der Gegenwart, Austria , 2006
‘Norgerg-Vastmanland-Bergslagen-Sweden-Scaninavia-27 July 2006 At Lunchtime’ Publication for
residency culminating in works cited in and around Norberg, Sweden, 20062005Showcase, Contemporary Art Society Acquisitions, 2005
The Hardest Thing to Draw is a Kiss, The Gallery at Wimbledon School of Art, 20052004Beneath the Stride of Giants, Camden Arts Centre (cat), 2004
2003Fox, Dan, ‘Brian Griffiths’, Frieze Art Fair Yearbook, Frieze Publishing, 2003
2002da Cunha, Alexandre and Griffiths, Brian, Exhibition Catalogue, Galeria Luisa Strina, British Council, 2002
2001Open Plan P3 - The Marathon, Alphadelta Gallery & Artio Gallery, Exhibition Catalogue, Athens, 2001
O’Reilly, Sally, Beck’s Futures 2, Exhibition Catalogue, ICA, London, 20012000Don’t Worry, Catalogue for commissioned works for Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, 2000
Young British Art: The Saatchi Decade, The Saatchi Gallery, London, 20001999New Neurotic Realism, The Saatchi Gallery, London, 1999
1998East International, Exhibition Catalogue, 1998
Connected, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, 19981997New Contemporaries, Exhibition Catalogue, 1997
Articles
2012Clark, Robert, ON: A Re-imagining of Blackpool Illumination, The Guardian Guide, May-June 2012, pp. 36
Rebecca Geldard, Art Review, April 2012, p.104 - 105
Allington-Wood, Thalia and Griffiths, Brian, The Invisible Show, Art Review, 15 February, 2012 Brian Griffiths @ Vilma Gold, Spect, acularum - Perspectives on Contemporary Art, February, 2012 Rittenback, Karl and Griffiths, Brian, www.artforum.com, February, 2012
Rittenback, Karl, Brian Griffiths, Artforum online, February, 2012
Doubal, Rosalie and Griffiths, Brian, The Invisible Show, Time Out London, 19 January, 2012 Brian Griffith’s Muse Music, Phaidon Online, January, 2012
2011Mac Giolla Leith, Caoimhin, The British Art Show 7, Frieze, January - February, 2011, p.99 - 100 Drdan, The Extension at Vilma Gold, Blog, 18 January, 2011
2010Jury, Louise, Diana Voodoo Doll Artist on Fourth Plinth Shortlist, Evening Standard, Dorment, Richard, The British Art Show, Nottingham/Newzspeak II, Saatchi Gallery, review, The Telegraph online, 21 November, 2010
Ward, Ossian, Proposals for Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth, Time Out London, 2010
Lewisohn, Cedar, Griffiths, Brian, Gravett, Paul and Thorp, Simon, Who Farted?, Tate Etc, Issue 19, Summer, 2010, p.82-912008Griffin, Jonathan, Second Life, Frieze, p.120-123, 2008
Another End, Vilma Gold, Exhibitions Pick of the Week, Guardian Guide, 5 July, 2008 Thatcher, Jennifer, Greenland Street, Art Review, December, 2008
Cohen, Louise, A Wise Old Bird, The Times Newspaper, 20 October, 2008
Sumpter, Helen, Going Underground, Timeout, London, 11-17 July, 2008
Brian Griffith’s Liverpool Debut, Art World, November, 2008
Morton, Tom, Bring His Tariff, A Bulletin, A foundation, Issue Two, Autumn, 2008
Life Is a Laugh, Uk Recent Projects, Public Art Review, Issue 37, 2008
Harris, Ed, One Way of Dealing With Tube Delays, Evening Standard, 12 July, 2008 Mind the Gap, And the Panda, Metro, 13 July, 2008
Paws for a Laugh, Metro, 17 July, 2008
Giant Panda Head in Tube Station, BBC News, 13 July, 2008
Day in Pictures, BBC News, 12 July, 2008
Brian Griffiths, Avantgarde Magazine, May, 20082007Brian Griffiths, Arnolfini, Bristol, Pick of the Week, The Guide, April, 2007
Ledger, Cassian, Beneath the Stride of Giants, Listings: Insight City News, May, 2007 Wareing, Rachel, Stirring Tales That are a Bit Nautical, The Argus Brighton, 25 May, 2007 The Story of a Sculpture, The Argus Brighton, 24 April, 2007
Beneath the Stride of Giants, Top Galleries, The Times, 14 April, 20072006O’Reilly, Sally, 60th Anniversary Exhibition, Art Monthly, 2006 Guner, Fisun, Lively for 60, Metrolife Art Review, 1 August, 2006
2004Herbert, Martin, Brian Griffiths, Camden Arts Centre, April, 2004
Skip Galleon Dominates Exhibition, BBC News, 7 July, 2004
Leitch, Luke, Ship from a Skip, Evening Standard, 24 June, 2004
O’Grady, Carrie, Here Today Gone Tomorrow: Brian Griffiths, The Guardian Guide, 20042003Brian Cyril Griffiths, Flash Art, 2003
Pick of The Week, The Guide, 11 October, 2003
Herbert, Martin, Brian Griffiths: Reviews, Timeout London, 2003 Brian Griffiths: Vilma Gold, Critics Choice, Timeout, London, 2003 The Breeder Projects, Timeout Athens Visitors’ Guide, 2003
The Breeder Projects, GQ, August, 20032002Brian Griffiths: MCMagma, Flash Art, April, 2002 Brian Cyril Griffiths, Kult, April, 2002
Perra, Daniele, Brian Cyril Griffiths: MCMagma, Maggio-Giugno, 20022001Güner, Fisun, The doughnut concept: creativity and commerce, Metro Life, May, 2001
Sevastopoulou, Stella, After the British Storm, Athens News, October, 2001
Kent, Sarah, Future Prospects: Who deserves to win the Beck’s Futures prize?, Time Out, April, 2001 Profile, Art Review, April, 2001
Morton, Tom, Brian Griffiths: Vilma Gold, Frieze, 2001
Home is where the art is, The Time Out Guide to Tate Britain, Time Out, 2001
Campbell-Johnston, Rachel, Lots of cash, but less cachet, The Times, 4 April 2001
Sumpter, Helen, Here’s one I made earlier, The Big Issue, April, 2001
Cumming, Laura, An odds-on favorite (City Racing 1998-1999), The Observer Review, 28 January, 2001 Jury, Louise, Going cheap – tomorrow’s Turner Prize-winning work, Independent on Sunday, 14
January, 20012000Lucie-Smith, Edward, The Saatchi Decade and Beyond, Art Review, February, 2000 O’Reilly, Sally, These Epic Islands: Vilma Gold, londonart.co.uk magazine, January 2000
Williams, Gilda, Point of View: Richard Salmon, Time Out, March, 2000 Williams, Gilda, These Epic Islands, Art Monthly, March, 2000, p.233-2341999Buck, Louisa, Arty Like It’s 1999, Esquire, January, 1999
Kent, Sarah, Boy’s zone: Saatchi’s unlikely lads and girl’s power, Time Out, January, 1999 McLaren, Duncan, Urban Spacemen, Contemporary Visual Arts, 1999
Jones, Jonathan, Not much to shout about, Observer, 1999
Burton, Jane, The fine art of selling, Metro, 7 January 19991998‘East’, Art Monthly, September, 1998
1997Herbert, Martin, Gonzo, Time Out, 1997
Sewell, Brian, Scandal of the shoddiest show in town, Evening Standard, 21 August, 1997Awards and Residencies
2010International Residency Programme, Pittsburgh (Mark Garry)