Art of the Week
Humour in art is a rare thing. In the past, it was situational comedy: drunks falling over or women in long dresses bending over in a high wind in ribald work by such 18th-century artists as Rowlandson. It was not until the 20th century that purely abstract, visual wit was introduced by artists like Paul Klee. The 82 drawings, coloured and black and white by the English artist David Shrigley are all untitled but contain single words or scraps of text. The style is spontaneous and rough but conceals skill and inexhaustible invention. No.35, Untitled, is a rich block of intense, solid blue/green. On the extreme top edge of the block is the heavy presence of a globe of black which is precariously perched. At the base is an assertion, “IT’S OK.” The image is an amusing metaphor for absurd overconfidence.