David Shriggs: Alternate Viewpoints

4 Colour Separation,  Acrylic on layered transparent films 2012. (All Images © David Shriggs)

 David Spriggs is a Mancunian born in 1978 who settled on Vancouver Island after immigrating to Canada. He has solidified his well-deserved position in the worldwide art market with stunning large-scale installations featuring either intricate layers of spray-painted transparent sheets, ink on layered transparent film, engraved transparent panels, or elaborate 3D works using layers of cut aluminum.

Over a decade before Refik Anadol and other computer artists were wowing crowds with their first-generation back-fed displays and room-filling “immersive” projections, David Spriggs was well on his way to honing a different approach to creating monumental three-dimensional works and ethereal presentations to captivate passersby. Rather than envelope the viewer with projected imagery, Spriggs’ multi-layered works maintain their physical space as true art objects and effortlessly draw viewers to them. At exhibitions, you commonly see groups circling the works within inches of the outer surfaces to engage from variable angles while peering up and down to comprehend the unique lighting and hanging methods.

From Vision II, 5x2x5 meters, Acrylic on Transparent Sheets, 2017 (© David Shriggs)

Punchy spray-painted color fields on polyester film, intricate engravings on glass sheets, and machine-carved aluminum sheets all feature technical precision with bold yet soothing emotional strength. The lighting choices combined with reflections from closely layered surfaces seem to pulsate in dimly lighted rooms while testing one’s perception and interpretations of what is real and what is imagined. Since the works are not projected, all elements are tight and sharp.

Shriggs deftly constructs installations that are compatible in a variety of settings, from opulent lobbies of traditional hotels to glimmering contemporary office spaces and homes. Structured encasings used to “hang” the layers serve to protect and maximize the depth and intricacy of the works. One swirling work from Red Gravity was repurposed as cover art and a stage backdrop for a recent tour by UK musician, Peter Gabriel, who chose the work of Spriggs over hundreds of other artists considered for the album cover.

Transparency Report, layered sheets of engraved glass 2014 (© David Shriggs)

My first exposure to Shriggs’ work was the 4 Colour Separation of 2012 (See banner above). I had assumed that the transparent layers were individually printed digitally on a large format printer; however, each layer was actually spray-painted from the center out, thus rendering the softened edges of color that produced a contemporary simulation of many of the mid-century Rothkos with equal amounts of inexplicable magnetism and ambiguity. I recalled my first visit to the red Rothkos at the Tate Modern in London. Standing a few feet in front of these towering works, the color became meaningless as you let your eyes lose focus, thereby allowing the entire surface to pulsate as elements within the field create an illusion of ebbs and flows. While the cerebral effect is similar, Spriggs’ 4CS took the opposite approach by isolating the 4 separations into distinct display cases, a stark interpretation of elemental roots from which all imagery is formed.

Aker, layered sheets of anodized aluminum 203x203cm 2023 (© David Shriggs)

Technology plays a larger role in the intricate compositions and etchings of multi-layered acrylic sheetings from Transparency Report (2014) and Logic of Control (2014). In Aker (2023) and several commissioned works installed throughout Asia, Shriggs uses computer-driven cutting technology to create massive layers of anodized aluminum to make wall sculptures, chandelier-like ceiling installations, and several trademark large-format displays. Rarely do we encounter visual artists who can span the false dichotomy between analog and digital while incorporating contemporary presentations into traditional visions so effortlessly.

Works by David Shriggs are featured in some of the finest corporate and private contemporary collections around the globe. He has exhibited extensively in most regions, with important previous events held throughout the Americas, the United Kingdom, Europe, Japan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Australia.

For additional information about the artist and his art, please visit the David Spriggs website at https://davidspriggs.art/

Red Gravity by David Spriggs used by Peter Gabriel as cover art and stage background 2023 (Image © David Springs)