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A pink goose telling you to ‘stop panicking’, a blue elephant whose ‘rampage is over’, an apologetic green raccoon – if you don’t know the name David Shrigley, you’ll almost certainly recognise his playful, tongue-in-cheek line drawings from coasters, mugs and greetings cards sold in countless souvenir shops and galleries across London.
But Shrigley is also a revered painter, sculptor, filmmaker and photographer. And next year, Dulwich Picture Gallery will host his first solo exhibition in a British public gallery since 2012.
It won’t be the kind of exhibition you expect. Instead of being shown on their own, brand-new never-before-seen works by Shrigley will be displayed alongside 17th-century Dutch and Flemish paintings.
Shrigley’s pieces will be in dialogue with the 400-year-old works, bringing out their comedic side and demonstrating ‘how artists through the ages have used humour to observe everyday life, human behaviour and social interaction’. The older stuff on show will include masterpieces from artists like Jan Steen, Adriaen Brouwer, David Teniers the Younger, Adriaen van Ostade, Pieter Brueghel the Younger and Rembrandt van Rijn.
Helen Hillyard, head of collection and exhibitions at the gallery, said: ‘Shrigley – like our historic painters – has an instinct for finding the funny side of everyday life. He is the perfect artist to bring back playfulness to the old masters, and remind us that great art doesn’t always need to be serious.’
There’s still a while to wait before we can see how the artist has responded to the old masters. David Shrigley at Dulwich Picture Gallery will run from May 25, 2027 until September 5, 2027.
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