What The Hell Are You Doing?: The Essential David Shrigley (Paperback)

Funny, profound and surprising all at the same time A brilliant new volume David Shrigley is probably the funniest gallery-type artist who ever lived. Consistently funny [A] master of modern surrealism . . . a must for fans of the absurd On the kink of his line Shrigley can shift effortlessly from pathos to paranoia. And his work is funny - very funny - his timing devastatingly effective. Weird, funny, abject, wise, silly, savage, moral and engaging. With a casual gesture Shrigley points to that hideous shape whose name I've never known - and then he names it. And the name is profoundly, embarrassingly familiar. I'm laughing while frantically searching for a pen, so desperate to capture the feeling he has unearthed in me. Shrigley's comedy appears to confirm the belief of great humourists (from Laurence Sterne to Woody Allen) that laughter is synonymous with hope. In the arena of contemporary art, Shrigley's work maintains a dualism, which is rare, rewarding and ultimately generous. David Shrigley is a rare thing in the art world: someone whose work people - normal(ish) people - actually love The Glasgow-based artist's scribbly drawings and witty captions have inspired a cult following and a celebrity fanbase including Will Self and Franz Ferdinand. Wonderfully skewed Shrigley specialises in the humour of a horny teenage boy crossed with an uptight conservative wrangling with modern moral dilemmas. Needless to say, we are in love. A must for fans of the absurd Half man, half legend Over the 300 or so pages, Shrigley mines a mordant, scatological seam, conjuring up the dark tradition of British humour that threw up Tony Hancock and Chris Morris Of his 20-odd books, this is by far the best. Plus, he's really famous now, so this might be the only way you'll ever own anything he's drawn A massive yellow compendium of paintings, writings, sculptures and scrawlings from an artist touched by comic genius and something like full-blown lunacy