Eight times Archibald Prize finalist, artist David Griggs creates vibrant, energetic paintings that exhume the raw undercurrents of a society and human conditions. Griggs is known for his bold anarchistic approach, drawing on personal experience, political imagery, popular culture and local crime histories. Often revealing the social hierarchies and underground culture of Manila, Philippines where he resided for 10 years. His major survey exhibition, BETWEEN NATURE AND SIN has been touring Australia from 2017-2019.
David Griggs Tracing the antiquity of Jewish alchemy; with Alexie Glass-Kantor, 2019; oil on canvas; diptych, each panel: 290 x 148.5 cm
David Griggs Wheel Wagon, 2018; oil on canvas; 214 × 167.5cm
Exhibition view, David Griggs, Palmtree Bass Budda, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery (6 October – 28 October 2017)
David Griggs Psychotropic vs sinthetic sin in the tropics, 2017; acrylic on canvas; 183.5 × 152.5cm
David Griggs Mankini Island
Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, 2020
David Griggs Clayton Utz Art Partnership
Clayton Utz, Sydney, 2019
Group Show, Archibald Prize
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2019
David Griggs Heroes
Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, 2018
David Griggs Palmtree Bass Budda
Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, 2017
David Griggs BETWEEN NATURE AND SIN
Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney, 2017
Group Show, Dawson, Griggs, Moore
Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, 2013
David Griggs Frat of the Obese
Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, 2011
Group Show, True Story
Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, 2010-11
David Griggs The sort of black claymore paintings
Pablo Gallery, Manila, 2010
Group Show, Neo Goth - back in black
University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane, 2008
DAVID GRIGGS
Born 1975 Sydney
Lives Manila, Philippines
EDUCATION
Master of Fine Arts (Sculpture), College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales
Bachelor of Visual Art (Painting), Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Mankini Island, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
BETWEEN NATURE AND SIN, Campbelltown Arts Centre, NSW; Glasshouse Regional Gallery, NSW; Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, NT; Redland Art Gallery, QLD; Cairns Art Gallery, QLD; Lismore Regional Gallery, NSW; Griffith Regional Art Gallery, NSW; Maitland Regional Art Gallery, NSW; Orange Regional Gallery, NSW and Bunjil Place Gallery, VIC
Heroes, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
Palmtree, Bass, Budda, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
BETWEEN NATURE AND SIN, Campbelltown Arts Centre, NSW
Horror Business, GAGPROJECTS/Greenaway Art Gallery, Adelaide
Magic is Mentally Ill, STATION, Melbourne
Frustrated Poverty Porn Bubble Gang, Future Perfect Gallery, Singapore
Tie Die Till I Dye, Kaliman Rawlins, Melbourne
Ban all Pink and Yellow Pills, Gallery Esosse, Sydney
Frat of the Obese, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
Zodiacs and God, KALIMANRAWLINS, Melbourne
Devils in Exile, Uplands Gallery, Melbourne
The sort of black claymore paintings, PABLO Gallery, Manila
Zombie Kiss, Uplands Gallery, Melbourne
New York Paris London Rome Manila City Jail, MOP Projects, Sydney
New York Paris London Rome Manila City Jail, presented in cooperation with Asialink and Australian Embassy - Manila, and Green Papaya Art Projects - Manila
All I want is peace in the Middle East, a blow-job, and a free T-shirt, Kaliman Gallery, Sydney
David Griggs at IMA@TCB, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane
Blood on the Streets, Uplands Gallery, Melbourne
Blood on the Streets, Artspace, Sydney
Exchanging Culture for Flesh, Level 2 Contemporary Project Space, Art Gallery of New South
Wales, Sydney
Bleeding Hearts Club, Kaliman Gallery, Sydney
The Buko Police, Green Papaya Art Projects, Manila
Destination Disaster, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne
Outside History, The Studio, Sydney Opera House, Sydney
Outside History, Boutwell Draper Gallery, Sydney
Radio Death Camp, Boutwell Draper Gallery, Sydney
Me Against My Brother, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Sydney
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
City Prince/sses, Palais De Tokyo, Paris
Nothing human is alien to me, Artspace, Ideas Platform, Sydney
Becoming Animal, Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Art of Living, Arts Project Australia, Melbourne
Kim Hamilton Sulit's “Domestic Dusk, new works for The Mona Lisa Project, West Gallery, Quezon City
Primavera at 25: MCA Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
DOUBLE VISION, Lee Kong Chian Gallery, NUS Museum, Singapore
Future Primitive, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
National Artists' Self-Portrait Prize 2013, The University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane
Marley Dawson, David Griggs and TV Moore, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
Dawson, Griggs and Moore, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
Slug gun drug machine, ZINC, Manila, Phillipines
Unbound: An Australian Phillipine exchange, Youchengco Museum, Manila, Phillipines
BASTARDS OF MISREPRESENTATION: NY EDITION, Topaz Arts; Queens Museum of Art; Tyler Rollins Fine Art; Crossing Art Gallery' AsiaPacific/American Institute at NYU, New York, United States
Transportable, MO Space, Manila, Phillipines
Hail to the Nightly Beasts of the Dark Sessions, DAGC Gallery, Manila, Phillipines
Bastards of Misrepresentation: Contemporary Art from Manila, H Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand
Great Ghastly, Art Informal, Manila, Phillipines
True Story, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
Inversion of the Ideal, Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill, Graz
Painting with a hammer to nail the crotch of civilization, Manila Contemporary, Manila
Bastards of Misrepresentation (doing time on Filipino time) Freies Museum, Berlin
Free Range Aesthetics: Pussyfooting Through the Detritus Mind Field of Reality, Skyline Gallery, San Francisco
Disorder Disorder Ulterior Motives in Contempororary Art, Penrith Regional Gallery and the Lewers Bequest, Sydney
Post Criminal, David Griggs + Adam Cullen, Kaliman Gallery, Sydney
The Death of Death (is alive and kicking), Art Center, Manila
Twenty/20, UTS-Gallery, Sydney
CODED, Blacktown Arts Center, Sydney
Fluid Zones: Jakarta Biennale, Jakarta, Indonesia
Group Show, MO Space, Manila, Philippines
Under my skin, Asialink touring exhibition
Neo Goth - back in black, University of Queensland, Brisbane
Hijacked, curated by Mark McPherson, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney
Australian, curated by Nicholas Tsoutas, Casula Powerhouse, Sydney
Revolving Doors: an exhibition in memory of Blair Trethowan, Uplands Gallery, Melbourne
The Independence Project, GALERIE PETRONAS, Malaysia and Gertrude Contemporary Art
Spaces, Melbourne
God Captured Like Fossilized Dung: New Art from the Third World, Firstdraft, Sydney and Inflight, Hobart
NADA Art Fair, Uplands Gallery Booth E4, Miami
End of Year Show, Uplands Gallery, Melbourne
Primavera, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
Parallel Lives: Australian Painting Today, Tarrawarra Biennial (curated by Victoria Lynn), Tarrawarra
Museum of Art, Healesville
Fantastic Voyage, Kaliman Gallery, Sydney
Winners are Grinners (curated by Hannah Matthews), The Meat Market, Melbourne
Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship Exhibition, Artspace, Sydney
Hardwired (curated by Robert Wellington), Firstdraft, Sydney
Freedman Foundation, Sir Hermann Black Gallery, Sydney
The Centenary of Wild Beasts, MOP Projects, Sydney
Out of the Blue, MOP Projects, Sydney
Rude Shock, Penrith Regional Gallery and the Lewers Bequest, Sydney
Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship Exhibition, Artspace, Sydney
Group Show, Kaliman Gallery, Sydney
GG Allen Breaks the Window, Inflight, Hobart
Festivus, Sherman Galleries, Sydney
The Beetles, Gallery Barry Keldoulis, Sydney
Balance of Power, Raid Projects, Los Angeles, USA
Not All Heroes and Legends, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
The Fucken Weird Show, Uplands Gallery, Melbourne
Anita and Beyond (curated by Lisa Havilah), Penrith Regional Gallery, Sydney
Octopus 3 (curated by Charlotte Day), Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne
OBJECTion (curated by Tim Silver and Russell Storer), Sarah Cottier, Sydney
OBJECTion (curated by Tim Silver and Russell Storer), The Physics Room, Christchurch, New
Zealand
Black to Basics, 1st Floor, Melbourne
Black to Basics, Rubyayre, Sydney
Bootcamp, Block, Sydney
Australian Painters at the Millennium, Imperial Slacks, Sydney
Skulls and Solicitors, Gallery 4A, Sydney
Qintex, Smith and Stonely, Brisbane
Dazzle (curated by Russell Storer and Andrew Mcqualter), 1st Floor, Melbourne
Hack, Grey Matter Contemporary Art, Sydney
Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship Exhibition, Artspace, Sydney
Fibro, Australian Perspecta, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Sydney
Vietnam Voices, Casula Powerhouse Arts Center, Sydney
Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship Exhibition, COFA Gallery, Sydney
GRANTS / AWARDS / COMMISSIONS
Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales (finalist)
Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales (finalist)
Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales (finalist)
Kilgour Prize 2018, Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle
Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales (finalist)
Doug Moran National Portrait Prize (finalist)
Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales (finalist)
Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales (finalist)
Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales (finalist)
UQ National Self Portrait Prize (Finalist)
Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales (finalist)
Melbourne Art Fair 2008, Artist Commission: Frog boy's dissertation into a new karaoke cult
Primavera Artist Prize, Museum of Contemporary Art
Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales (finalist)
International Program, Overseas Travel Grant, NSW Ministry for the Arts
Freedman Foundation Travelling Art Scholarship for emerging artists
Winner of the Willoughby City Art Prize, Painting
Sir William Dobell Scholarship, Sydney College of the Arts
RESIDENCIES
Artspace Studio Residency, Sydney
Green Papaya Art Projects, Philippines, Asialink Residency Program
Barcelona Studio, Australia Council for the Arts, Spain
Artspace Studio Residency, Sydney
Ateneo University Manila, Asialink Residency Program
Artspace Studios, Sydney
Penrith Regional Gallery and the Lewers Bequest, Sydney
Mae Sot, Thai/Burma border
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Peter Munro, “David Griggs finds fun among the paint fumes at Campbelltown Arts Centre”,
Sydney Morning Herald, August 14, 2017. https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/david-griggs-finds-fun-among-the-paint-fumes-at-campbelltown-arts-centre-20170727-gxjsnh.html
Kon Gouriotis, 'David Griggs', Artist Profile, Issue 33, 2015, pp. 74-80
John Mcdonald, “In our own image”, Sydney Morning Herald, March 23-24, 2013, pp12-13
Carrie Miller, “Curriculum Culture”, Australian Art Collector, Issue 66, October - December 2013, pp. 63-70
`Bastards of Misrepresentation: Doing time on Filipino time' Freies Museum, Berlin essays by Kevin
Power and Arvin Flores
'David Griggs - Zombie Kiss' catalogue, Uplands Gallery, essay by Jarrod Rawlins
'Art, Jail Style', Philippine Daily Enquirer, May 24, 2009, p. A19-20, by Gerry Lirio
'New Visions, Alternative Platforms', C Arts Asian Contemporary Art & Culture, Vol. 7, March/April, 2009 p. 46, by Eugene Tan
'Not a Dead Astronaut' Art World, Issue 4, August/September 2008, p. 88-95
'Let's All Go to Iraq', UN Magazine, Issue 2.1, March 2008, p. 46-49, by Fayen d'Evie
'Current: Contemporary Art from Australia and New Zealand', edited by Art & Australia, Sydney, 2008
'Notes on a Freak Show', Melbourne Art Fair 08, catalogue essay, by Ramon E.S. Lerma
'Under my skin', Asialink touring exhibition, curated by Sarah Bond and Georgia Sedgwick, artist interview
'Blessed Grunge', Art Asia Pacific, no. 52, March/April 2007, p. 84-87, by Gina Fairley
'Seeing the world with blood in his eyes', catalogue essay for Blood on the Streets, Uplands Gallery,
by Ramon E.S. Lerma
'Exchanging Culture for Flesh', Art Gallery of New South Wales Contemporary Projects, catalogue
#1.06, essay by Fergus Armstrong
'Winners are Grinners', Hijacked #9, catalogue, 60 pages, essay by Hannah Matthews
'David Griggs', Strange Cargo: Contemporary Art as a State of Encounter, exhibition catalogue, p. 34-35
'Art Monthly Australia, March 2006 number 187, Art Notes NSW, p. 44
'The Buko Police', catalogue, 76 color pages, published in conjunction with The Buko Police, Green
Papaya Art Projects, Manila
'Hooded spectre of Abu Ghraib has his revenge', SMH, Rachel Roberts, April 21, p. 8
'Report from Sydney,' Commercial Venues, Art in America, Lilly Wei, December, p. 63
'Destination Disaster', Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, catalogue, 8 pages, essay by Paul Curran
Art Monthly, 'Anita and Beyond', Jeremy Eccles, June, no. 160, p. 6-7
HQ, 'Difficult Art', Lee Tram, March, p. 16-17
'Anita Cobby', Financial Review, John McDonald, March, p. 63-65
Octopus 3 catalogue, essay Charlotte Day, curator
Eyeline Contemporary Visual Arts, David Griggs - Shaun Gladwell, Kit Messham-Muir, issue 46,
p.49-50
'Uncovering Australia's art stars', Australian Art Collector, Alexie Glass, April-June, p. 71-72
'Art and Childhood, Play things-some contemporary artists and there objects,' Artlink, Russell Storer, vol. 21, no 2, p. 37-41
'Questions of curatorship: Connoisseurs or Cultists', Postwest, Russell Storer, issue 16, p. 30-31
'Hack,' Blair French, Art and Text, issue 69, May-July, p. 90
1998 Monument Architecture and Design, issue 29, p. 34
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
University of Queensland, Brisbane
Joyce Nissan Collection, Melbourne
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, NSW
Tamworth Regional Gallery, Tamworth
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