Where Madness Reigns - The Art of Gris Grimly

Released: 2008

By: Gris Grimly

We have explored the man in the last SHARP OBJEX exclusive interview, now let us explore his mind...

The creative genius that resonates inside Gris Grimly has brought us many delights. Two varying, yet intensely linked art-forms, are his illustrations, and his endeavours in film making.

"Gris Grimly knows that great adventures sometimes begin in the dead of night and that monsters are not always what they seem. The fantastic realms of children's literature seem more dangerous and dark when viewed with the wide-eyed sense of madness that Gris Grimly brings to his work as a preeminent illustrator in the genre.” - Inside cover.

Art books are inherently odd. I mean, what exactly do you do with them? I do have a fondness of collecting them, but that may be because I quite enjoy the pretentiousness of flaunting them nonchalantly on coffee tables, and next to leather bound volumes of Blake and Plath. Nonetheless, they are quite beautiful when you really appreciate the artist, and they can contain more insight into their work than you would get scouring the net blinking at bleary pixelated images. This is one such example of a collection of artwork that tells a story. Each image is a tale in itself, and each page leads on to the next stage of Grimly's world- with his developments in style, explorations in media, and choices of inspiration.

Some art collections need writing to explain the meaning of the piece it accompanies. Not this one. In fact let me give you an example...

Amidst a bleak and dismal graveyard, trees loom eerily into view while the broken elongated hands of zombies reach across the page. A very strange giant creature really stands out of the piece, its static inking still giving the impression of movement, as a girl who could be something out of “Alice in Wonderland” sits on its back in confidence. Entitled “Lou Lou Escapes the Valley of the Zombies on her Noble Lycanthrope," it is literally a fairy tale encapsulated into an image . The set of ink and water colour paintings are my favourite in the book, especially with the way they evoke a a comic book like sense of bedtime stories...told at midnight...probably at Halloween.

His art is not in everyone's taste. He reaches into fairytale-like realms, and pulls the very guts and grotesqueness that may be lingering at their routes. Here there are odes to the lonely, homages to classic film noir, and clear statements on politics and current affairs. I love the way he encapsulates a moment. Like a snapshot of a particular expression, or a moment of terrifying glee. A cannibal beams happily, clapping his dreadful hands together over a bloody cake, and a rotting figure looms tall in a field of flowers, a butterfly settling prettily on his hand.

Its noted that this is a book of some of Gris' favourite work. There are pictures of the front of cards he has produced- christmas greetings in forms like an evil Santa lurking after his ignorant reindeer pray. You know what I mean. Its 'that' sort of bizarre visualisation. Yet it is not just the general picture that grabs your attention. The high quality imaging shows you the immense detail on some of his mixed media work. Stitching, staples, and layered paper jump out at you to bring another dimension to his world.

Where Madness Reigns is truly a masterpiece collection. A wonderful introductory book to the inquisitive mind, a must have for inspired artists, and a collectable for the die-hard Grimly fan.

Stay tuned next time for a review of Grimly's short film, Cannibal Flesh Riot.