David Griessel

My art is inextricably bound up with my love of fantasy and imagination. In my performance artwork as well as my drawings a theme that recurs is the juxtaposition of the mundane and fantastical, and the way in which daydreaming and whimsy can afford a temporary escape from the harsh world. Another source of inspiration is literature: Behind every project I do, there lies a bedrock of literature informing my work, ranging from Franz Kafka to Stephen King. My pictures may appear to simply be whimsical fantasy scenes, but in actuality the themes I attempt to visualize are often very serious and extremely personal. In essence my art is a dialectical shadow play between playfulness and solemnity, whimsy and pensiveness. I do not believe in over explaining art, so I will leave it up to the viewer to interpret my work as they see fit. I see my art as instigators of reverie and dreaming, both of these activities are extremely powerful but also fragile at the same time, and words cannot do them any justice.