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Everything Is OK at David Shrigley's New Solo Show in New York

The idiosyncratic British artist brings 78 drawings, two sculptures and one animation to his sixth solo show at Anton Kern Gallery.
Still, Start/Finish, 2015. Animation, 1:33 min

The Guardian once called his work "immediately recognisable: crummy, gauche, all boneless limbs, knob heads, crossings-out and ink blots," while the Sydney Morning Herald said he "celebrates life as blunder; his work elevates the misfit, the oddball, the whacko who lives the insult of everyone else." Now, British artist David Shrigley returns to New York with 78 drawings, two sculptures and one animation for his sixth solo show at Anton Kern Gallery.

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"Like a great skeptical underground project," the gallery explains in a press release, "Shrigley’s conceptual, idea-based art is a never-ending stream of curious propositions and eccentric moral dilemmas. With acerbic humor and strangely profound insights, the artist lays bare the ambiguities, comedy and pathos of everyday life." Included in the show are Shrigley's idiosyncratic paintings and drawings, adorned with texts like "I AM A SIGNWRITER I WRITE SIGNS I DO NOT DECIDE WHAT THE SIGNS SAY MY JOB IS JUST TO WRITE THE SIGNS AND NOTHING MORE," a giant, powder-coated steel calculator that can only subtract, and an animation featuring the artist's hand-drawn take on Sega arcade game, Out Run (above). "According to the artist," the press release continues, "most aspects of life have the potential to be 'ridiculous, absurd, awkward, funny and meaningless all at once,'" so if you're looking for a detour through the crushing burden of everyday existence, head over to Anton Kern Gallery through May 23.

Subtractor, 2013. Powder coated steel, screen printed acrylic keys and LED, 23 1/4 x 16 x 2 inches (59.1 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm)

Untitled (Huge foot), 2014. Acrylic on paper, 29 7/8 x 22 1/16 inches (75.9 x 56 cm)

David Shrigley, Installation view

Untitled (The brain), 2014. Acrylic on paper, 29 7/8 x 22 1/16 inches (75.9 x 56 cm)

Untitled (It’s OK), 2014. Acrylic on paper, 29 7/8 x 22 1/16 inches (75.9 x 56 cm)

Untitled (The sun), 2014. Acrylic on paper, 29 7/8 x 22 1/16 inches (75.9 x 56 cm)

David Shrigley, Installation view

Untitled (Vegetable), 2015. Acrylic on paper, 29 7/8 x 22 1/16 inches (75.9 x 56 cm)

Untitled (My life is good), 2015, Acrylic on paper, 29 7/8 x 22 1/16 inches (75.9 x 56 cm)

David Shrigley, Installation view

David Shrigley is on view now at Anton Kern Gallery through May 23, 2015. Click here for more information.

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