Oliver Griffin

Oliver Griffin (born 1983) is a British visual artist currently living and working in London and Berlin.

Oliver Griffin
Born1983 (age 37–38)
Boscombe, United Kingdom
NationalityEnglish
Alma materFalmouth University
Known forBecoming a core member living at 78 Lyndhurst Way
Websiteolivergriffin.co.uk

Early career

Born in Boscombe in 1983, Griffin studied Photography at Falmouth College of Arts, now Falmouth University. Upon graduation in 2006 he moved to London to live at 78 Lyndhurst Way where he became a core member of the eponymous artists' collective, participating in exhibitions and events in the house and local area.[1] It was there that he first met Hannah Barry,[2] who curated exhibitions at the house and later championed the work of Lyndhurst Way artists through her gallery.[3][4] In 2007 he was involved in the establishment of Bold Tendencies, an ongoing annual arts and sculpture festival held on the upper floors and roof of a disused multi-story car park in Peckham.[5][6]

Artistic practice

Griffin is best known for his typologies[7] of objects and situations that explore the mundane, the boring, and the everyday; these primarily take the form of photographic prints, sculptures and artist's books. His subjects include house-keys, domestic ceilings, light switches, fence panels, his glasses, parked cars, and skid marks left on gymnasium floors by BMX bikes. His work is characterized by a wry detachment, and in response to a framed grid of 42 discarded lottery scratch cards a reviewer once observed: "...a colourful collage of unwarranted optimism and dashed hopes, is given the title National Lottery scratch cards, or the nihilism and waste of post-modern gambling produces such beautiful pieces of paper. Always a sunny side, clearly."[8] When interviewed by Artfridge in 2016 he noted: "I know a lot of photographers see me as a conceptual artist and a lot of artists see me as a photographer. Personally, I think I’m a photographer. I know too much about cameras!"[9]

Notable activities

In 2013 his extensive archive was exhibited in the Art Projects section of the London Art Fair[10] and in 2014 his work travelled to Ekaterinburg, Russia, for the Decisive Action Festival.[11] From 2013-2016 his work was included in a Gagosian Gallery exhibition entitled 'Ed Ruscha: Books & Co', which toured venues in New York, Paris, Los Angeles, and Munich (at the Museum Brandhorst).[12] Griffin is represented by Hannah Barry Gallery in London, is a member of the ABC Artists' Books Cooperative and currently serves as the creative director of the artist-led project space, Dzialdov in Berlin.

Collections

FRAC Poitou-Charentes, France[13]

References
  1. Hettie Harvey (2009-10-15). "London's artists: the Peckham set | London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  2. Epps, Philomena (2009-08-27). "Hannah Barry Hails From Peckham - Interviews - Art in America". Artinamericamagazine.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  3. "Hannah Barry | Flash Art". Flashartonline.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  4. Hermione Hoby. "Hermione Hoby meets some of the young artists living in squats | Art and design". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  5. "BOLD TENDENCIES — Interview with Oliver Griffin". Boldtendencies.tumblr.com. 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  6. Lorna Cumming-Bruce (2016-05-25). "Peckham's car-park arts hub works on so many levels". Ft.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  7. "» Photographic Typologies: The Study of Types". Blog.redbubble.com. 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  8. "Look on the bright side: Optimistic Art". The Independent. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  9. Anna-Lena Werner (2016-05-18). "Artfridge: Interview: Oliver Griffin". Artfridge.de. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  10. Gleadell, Colin (2013-01-14). "London Art Fair: A varied fair full of adventure". Telegraph. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  11. "NCCA - Ekaterinburg. Decisive Action". Ncca.ru. 2014-08-30. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  12. "Ed Ruscha - March 5 - April 27, 2013". Gagosian. 2013-04-27. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  13. "ABC, collection FRAC Poitou-Charentes". Frac-poitou-charentes.org. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
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