About Grant Wiggins: Modern Paintings and Minimalist Painting
Paintings by Arizona artist Grant Wiggins recall the Op art patterning and psychedelic colorways of the 1960s and early 1970s. He finds inspiration in hard-edge painting, minimalist painting, vintage geometric patterns, corporate logos, and product packaging.
At first influenced by the advertising paintings of Pop artist 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 a 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 is the only artist in Arizona to show consecutively in the 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009 editions of the Arizona Biennial, held at the Tucson Museum of Art. He also has exhibited his paintings twice at Phoenix Art Museum and in the inaugural TCA Biennial, at the Tempe Center for the Arts.
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.
Featured Paintings
Upcoming Show: Nielsen Collection at Tucson Museum of Art
A bright spot on Tucson's cultural calendar this summer is certainly Thanks for Being With Us: Contemporary Art from the Douglas Nielsen Collection, on view at Tucson Museum of Art from July 16 through October 16, 2010. Wiggins will be exhibiting one of his "poppiest" paintings: Hands. Other artists in the collection include Ed Ruscha, John Baldessari, and Bruce Nauman.
Now Showing with Legendary Hard-Edge Painters at Thomas Hayes Gallery in Hollywood
Since April, Wiggins has exhibited his paintings on the same walls as legendary hard-edge painters John Barbour and June Harwood at Thomas Hayes Gallery, as a part of the gallery's recent grand opening. Thanks to Thomas Hayes Gallery, Wiggins's works have been featured in the May 2010 edition of LA Times Magazine and on Dwell.com.
Now Showing in Meltdown at Soyal Gallery
Wiggins is among more than 30 artists exhibiting in Meltdown at Soyal Gallery, in Scottsdale, AZ, through August 12, 2010.
Art Newsletter
Subscribe to Wiggins's art newsletter and be the first to know about upcoming shows, as well as receive updates on some of the new paintings he's been working on.
See the current newsletter here
See Inside the Studio
The art blog at wiggz.com gives you a glimpse into the art studio, where you can see Wiggins's newest paintings and work in progress, read about his influences, and learn about upcoming shows.
Recent Posts
Signed, Framed Prints for Sale
Transverse 0803B Framed Print
10 x 10 inches
25.4 x 25.4 cm
$100 USD + $10 shipping