William Griffin: Horses

WILLIAM GRIFFIN

bruno david gallery Horses

WILLIAM GRIFFIN

Horses

February 9 - March 30, 2024

Bruno David Gallery

7513 Forsyth Boulevard

Saint Louis, Missouri 63105, U.S.A.

info@brunodavidgallery.com www.brunodavidgallery.com

Founder/Director: Bruno L. David

This catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition “Horses” at Bruno David Gallery.

Editor: Bruno L. David

Catalogue Designer: Kennedy Austin

Designer Assistant: Claudia R. David

Printed in USA

All works courtesy of The Estate of William Griffin and Bruno David Gallery

Photographs by Bruno David Gallery

Cover image:

Untitled, (detail) 2012

Oil on canvas

25 3/4 x 24 inches (framed)

Copyright ©2024 The Estate of William Griffin and Bruno David Gallery

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of Bruno David Gallery

PROLOGUE

BY BRUNO L. DAVID

CHECKLIST AND IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION BIOGRAPHY

BY BRUNO L. DAVID

I am pleased to present, Horses, an exhibition of paintings by the late artist William Griffin (1950-2020). Bruno David Gallery represents the William Griffin Estate.

William Griffin skillfully merges the techniques of classical masters with a contemporary perspective. His paintings showcase a distinctive approach where human figures are expressed through strong physical and emotional content. By employing a technique that focuses on the powerful essence of each gesture, Griffin creates a style that strips away extraneous details and is reminiscent of photography and film. These stylish oil paintings are within the long tradition of western painting and are influenced by early 20th century artists’ movement away from representational work. Bridging historical influences with modern perspectives, offering viewers an exploration of form in a refined and innovative manner.

Griffin’s personal style brings immediacy to his work. He integrates plasticity with decoration by creating large-scale paintings of movement in both human and animal bodies. His brushwork captures the essence of how bodies reflect and transform in fleeting moments of time, exploring the dynamic nature of physical form. By limiting his palate to grayscale values on the white primed surface, Griffin further accentuates two-dimensional solidity, confronting the viewer with an intimacy that resembles the encounter between the artist’s subjects.

In Griffins portrayal of horse legs, the viewer is introduced to his personal style, which creates a new and powerful tension by contrasting the enclosed volumes of figures with unpainted areas. In these paintings Griffin captures the dynamic energy, vitality, and muscularity of the horses’ legs in a single moment.

While Studying painting and sculpture at Washington University in St. Louis, Griffin was invited to create sculptures for the St. Louis Veiled Prophet Parade, centerpiece event of the annual July 4th holiday celebration in St. Louis. Griffin has served as Artistic Director of the parade since 1989, bringing that annual event national attention and prominence. Like other painters who’ve also worked as commercial artists, Griffin’s commercial experience has shaped and influenced his imaginative approach. His work has allowed him to explore a variety of styles and methods-producing public art, in sculpture and painted form, with a heightened interplay of illusion and reality.

Support for the creation of significant new works of art has been the core to the mission and program of the Bruno David Gallery since its founding in 2005. I am deeply grateful to Kennedy Austin, who gave much time, talent, and expertise to the production of this catalogue. Invaluable gallery staff support for the exhibition was provided by Jenny Rong, Hazel Tao, Kennedy Austin, Kenya Mitchell, and Kalli Brown.

CHECKLIST & IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION

Untitled (Horse series)

2012

Oil on canvas

24 x 26 inches

(60.96 x 66.04 cm)

Untitled (Horse series)

2012

Oil on canvas

24 x 26 inches

(60.96 x 66.04 cm)

Untitled (Horse series) 2012

Oil on canvas

25 3/4 x 24 inches

(65.41 x 60.96 cm)

Untitled (Horse series)

2012

Oil on canvas

24 x 26 inches

(60.96 x 66.04 cm)

Untitled (Horse series)

2012

Oil on canvas

24 x 26 inches

(60.96 x 66.04 cm)

Untitled (Horse series) 2012 Oil on canvas 24 x 54 inches (60.96 x 137.16 cm)

Untitled (Horse series)

2012

Oil on canvas

24 x 54 inches

(60.96 x 137.16 cm)

Untitled (Horse series)

2012

Oil on canvas

24 x 26 inches

(60.96 x 66.04 cm)

Untitled (Horse series)

2012

Oil on canvas

24 x 26 inches

(60.96 x 66.04 cm)

brunodavidgallery.com brunodavidprojects.com

@bdavidgallery

#BrunoDavidGallery

#WilliamGriffin

#Horses

#GoSeeArt

#ArtExhibition

#ArtPublication

#ArtBook

#ArtCatalog instagram.com/brunodavidgallery/ facebook.com/bruno.david.gallery

twitter.com/bdavidgallery goodartnews.com/

ARTISTS

Antonio Ainscough

Sara Ghazi Asadollahi

Barry Anderson

Laura Beard

Heather Bennett

Lisa K. Blatt

Michael Byron

Ben Brough

Quinn A. Briceno

Bunny Burson

Lisa Bulawsky

Judy Child

Carmon Colangelo

William Conger

Alex Couwenberg

Terry James Conrad

Jill Downen

Damon Freed

Yvette Drury Dubinsky

Douglass Freed

William Griffin Estate

Adrian Gonzalez

Richard Hull

Mee Jey

Kelley Johnson

Chris Kahler

Bill Kohn Estate

Leslie Laskey Estate

Justin Henry Miller

James Austin Murray

William Morris

Arny Nadler

Yvonne Osei

Patricia Olynyk

Charles P. Reay

Daniel Raedeke

Tom Reed

Frank Schwaiger

Eric Minh Swenson

Char Schwall

Christina Shmigel

Thomas Sleet

Buzz Spector

Andrea Stanilav

Cindy Tower

Mario Trejo