David Shrigley Stink

David Shrigley was born on September 17th, 1968, in Macclesfield, Cheshire, and grew up in Oadby, Leicestershire. He took the Art and Design Foundation course at Leicester Polytechnic in 1987, moving on to study environmental art at Glasgow School of Art in 1988, where he remained until 1991. During his studies, Shrigley worked as a gallery guide at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow.

Shrigley has had several notable solo exhibitions for his iconic visual art, including "David Shrigley" at Dundee Contemporary Arts (2006), "Everything Must Have a Name" at the Malmo Konsthall in Sweden (2007), an exhibition at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead (2008), the Museum Ludwig in Cologne (2008), "New Powers" at the Kunsthalle Mainz in Germany (2009), the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow (2010) and "Animate" at the Turku Art Museum in Finland (2011).

In 2016, Shrigley’s work was part of a British Council touring exhibition. In the same month, he was showcased in the Liverpool Provocations event. Shrigley was nominated for the 2013 Turner Prize and awarded an OBE in the Queen’s New Years Honours List 2020. Shrigley is collected by the Stephen Friedman Gallery (London), Anton Kern Gallery (New York), the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Tate (London) and the Royal Academy of Arts (London) among other institutions.

Find David Shrigley prints, sculptures and other art on 1stDIbs.

Figurative sculptures mix reality and imagination, with the most common muse being the human body. Animals are also inspirations for these sculptures, along with forms found in nature.

While figurative sculpture dates back over 35,000 years, the term came into popularity in the 20th century to distinguish it from abstract art. It was aligned with the Expressionist movement in that many of its artists portrayed reality but in a nonnaturalistic and emotional way. In the 1940s, Alberto Giacometti — a Swiss-born artist who was interested in African art, Cubism and Surrealism — created now-iconic representational sculptures of the human figure, and after World War II, figurative sculpture as a movement continued to flourish in Europe.

Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon were some of the leading figurative artists during this period. Artists like Jeff Koons and Maurizio Cattelan propelled the evolution of figurative sculpture into the 21st century.

Figurative sculptures can be whimsical, uncanny and beautiful. Their materials range from stone and wood to metal and delicate ceramics. Even in smaller sizes, the sculptures make bold statements. A bronze sculpture by Salvador Dalí enhances a room; a statuesque bull by Jacques Owczarek depicts strength with its broad chest while its thin legs speak of fragility. Figurative sculptures allow viewers to see what is possible when life is reimagined.

Browse 1stDibs for an extensive collection of figurative sculptures and find the next addition to your collection.