Paintings by artist Grant Wiggins recall the op-art patterning and psychedelic colorways of the 1960s and early 1970s. The represent an amalgam of inspirations — from hard-edge painting, minimalist painting, and brutalist architecture, to vintage geometric patterns, corporate logos, and product packaging.
At first influenced by the early advertising paintings of Andy Warhol, in 1993 Wiggins began to appropriate corporate logos and product packaging designs, as a reaction to mega-corporate, mass-culture consumerism. Calling this style "Acid Pop," his early paintings combined "quasi-Dadaist" illogical language — often generated with software — with odd fragments of product packaging.
Wiggins later abandoned irony and pop-culture iconography in favor of pursuing design-intensive, "maximalist" paintings that jam together bold lines, vivid color combinations, and complex patterning. Through this "mix-and-clash" methodology, Wiggins has tapped into the energy of mass-marketing vehicles that he finds artistically compelling while eschewing the psychological warfare that underlies the motivations of the marketplace. At the same time, Wiggins developed an interest in minimalist painting and hard-edge painting, and began to explore new forms of graphic painting.
Wiggins was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1973. He holds an MBA from Arizona State University; an MA in English from Northwestern University, in Evanston, Illinois; and a BA in English from Kenyon College, in Gambier, Ohio. He resides in Tempe, Arizona.
My work negotiates the seemingly opposed polarities of minimalist and maximalist art.
My interest in minimalist art — a compositional strategy that relies on essential elements — has inspired me to produce nonrepresentational, geometric paintings with colorful curves and interlocking shapes.
Yet, I am also fascinated by maximalism — or my version of it, at least — in which I fashion geometric paintings with disorienting "mix-and-clash" arrangements, where graphical elements such as patterns, stripes, broken corporate logos and jarring colors collide.
While I consider myself a modern painter, I am not satisfied to produce art with only one kind of "look." While I am fascinated by the reductive, pure forms found in minimalist art, I enjoy experimenting with the over-the-top, high-octane ornamentation found in maximalism. Time after time, I get inspired by a minimalist art ideal, only to get bored and start decorating again.
Regardless of which compositional strategy I am employing, design remains the common genetic thread in my work. I find inspiration in everything from consumer products — packaging boxes of prepared foods and race car designs — to vintage geometric textiles, Op Art, and brutalist architecture.
Rather than explain away my work, I prefer to allow my work operate on its own terms, leaving the viewer to experience, and hopefully enjoy, the literal act of seeing.
Born in 1973, in Cleveland, Ohio
Resides in Tempe, Arizona
MBA Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona
MA, English Northwestern University Evanston, Illinois
BA, English Kenyon College Gambier, Ohio
Circles with Corners; Soyal Gallery; Scottsdale, Arizona
Maximal Minimal; .anti_space; Phoenix, Arizona
Treasures from the Xerxes Nebula; reZurrection Gallery; Tempe, Arizona
Irrational Exuberance; Aosis/Freedom; Tempe, Arizona
(* Denotes juried exhibition; ** Denotes catalogue published)
Beyond Minimalism; Hudson|LINC, at Design Lab at PDC (Pacific Design Center); West Hollywood, California
Chaos Theory 13; Legend City Studios; Phoenix, Arizona
Vivid Visions; Compound Gallery; Portland, Oregon
Thomas Hayes Gallery; Hollywood, California
Chaos Theory 12; Legend City Studios; Phoenix, Arizona
20"x20"x20": National Compact Competition and Exhibit; Louisiana State University Student Union Art Gallery; Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Think Small 5; ArtSpace Gallery; Richmond, Virginia
4square; Squeeze Gallery; Scottsdale, Arizona
Thomas Hayes Gallery; Hollywood, California
Chaos Theory 11; Legend City Studios; Phoenix, Arizona
Thanks for Being with Us: Contemporary Art from the Douglas Nielsen Collection; Tucson Museum of Art; Tucson, Arizona **
Meltdown; Soyal Gallery; Scottsdale, Arizona
Thomas Hayes Gallery; Hollywood, California
Chaos Theory 10; Legend City Studios; Phoenix, Arizona
2009 Arizona Biennial; Tucson Museum of Art; Tuscon, Arizona *
Curated by Tim Rodgers, Chief Curator, New Mexico Museum of Art
Painting; Foundry Art Centre; St. Charles, Missouri *
Curated by Ron Thomas
TCA Biennial: Paper; Tempe Center for the Arts; Tempe, Arizona *
Curated by Anne Coe, Joe D'Ambrosio and John Risseeuw
Think Small 4; ArtSpace Gallery; Richmond, Virginia
Global Warming: Artists Speak. Orange County Center for Contemporary Art **
2007 Arizona Biennial. Tucson Museum of Art; Tucson, Arizona *
Curated by Diane Perry Vanderlip, Curator, Denver Museum of Art
Think Small 3; ArtSpace Gallery; Richmond, Virginia
Five-Year Retrospective; reZurrection Gallery; Tempe, Arizona
2005 Arizona Biennial; Tucson Museum of Art; Tucson, Arizona *
Curated by Siri Engberg, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
Art One Gallery; Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona
Furniture Art Designers Showcase; monOrchid; Phoenix, Arizona
Fresh Paint; Phoenix Art Museum **
Mass Surrealism; Thought Crime; Phoenix, Arizona
Cannibal Flower Underground Art Show; Los Angeles (various sites)
Popped Out; monOrchid; Phoenix, Arizona
2003 Arizona Biennial; Tucson Museum of Art; Tucson, Arizona * **
Curated by Toby Kamps, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
Modes of Variance; Kontrive; Tempe, Arizona
The State of America; reZurrection Gallery; Tempe, Arizona
Phoenix Art Museum Children's Gallery: Wall mural and accompanying graphics (2004-05 school year)
Maricopa Community Colleges: Posters for "Popular Culture" lecture series (2004-05 and 2005-06 school years)
Regan, Margaret. "Multiple Strands: Early-Career Artists Take up Many of the Slots at the Tucson Museum of Art's 'Biennial '09.'" Tucson Weekly. July 30, 2009. Article here.
Patafio, Melissa. "Biennial Trifecta." 944 (Phoenix, Arizona). June 2007. p. 62
Barzso, Tain. "It's the Arts." The Noise (Flagstaff, Arizona). Mar 2006. p. 12
Barzso, -----. "It's the Arts." The Noise. Jan 2006. Cover and pp. 12-3
Jhaveri, Keri and Brian McHugh (Producers). January 22, 2006. Sunday Artist Series. Phoenix, Arizona: KNXV-TV (ABC 15).Roberts, Brady, M. Fresh Paint. Phoenix Art Museum Exhibition Catalogue. Phoenix Art Museum, 2004
Phoenix New Times. "Who's Cool." December 12, 2003
Villani, John Carlos. "Downtown Artists Get Taste of the Big Time," The Arizona Republic, November 16, 2003, pp. E1, E5
Buchanan, Susy. "Fresh Paint: Art Junkies," Phoenix New Times, November 4, 2003, p. 51. Article here.
Scott, Miriam A. "The TRA25Capsule: Popped Art," Switch, November 2003, pp. 8-13
Hiett, Christina S. "Kamping in Arizona," Shade, June 2003, pp. 36-8
Tucson Museum of Art. Arizona Biennial '03, 2003
Parker, Oriana. "The Downtown Phoenix Art Scene: Poised for Greatness," The Arizona Republic, May 25, 2003, AZ Style p. 5
McIntyre, Ernest. "New Exhibit Proves that Pop Art Didn't Die with Warhol," The Arizona Republic, May 16, 2003
Koch, Jill. "Pop Goes the Easel," Phoenix New Times. May 14, 2003, p. 41
Freedman, Mark, Oliver Hibert, and Grant Wiggins. "In Their Own Words." Shade, April 2003, pp. 43-4
"Mass Market: Pop Imagery from a New Generation," Metro, April 2003, p. 90
Rose, Joshua. "Modes of Variance: Paintings by Oliver Hibert and Grant Wiggins," Shade, October 2002, pp. 42-3
Burnett, Roberta. "Wiggins' Show Turns Ads into Art," The Arizona Republic, August 17, 2001
Villani, -----. "Enigmatic Art Takes You on Road Trip through Desert," The Arizona Republic, August 11, 2003, p. E3
Jones, Mark. "Lampooning Logos," Scottsdale Tribune and East Valley Tribune, August 3, 2001, D1
Provencio, Claudia. "A Whole New World," The Arizona Republic, February 21, 2001, The Rep, p. 30
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