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David Spriggs, Artist – Vancouver Island

David Spriggs is a Canadian and British artist born in Manchester in 1978 and based on Vancouver Island. His sculptures and installations explore perception, colour, power, and the threshold of form. In 1999, he pioneered an approach to painting across transparent layers, giving images sculptural volume in the space between two and three dimensions. He is known for his monumental installations, which he calls Stratachromes. His work has been exhibited internationally at venues including the Brooklyn Museum, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and the Sharjah Biennial. In 2024, he received the Grand Prix de l’Art de l’Espace from the Fondation Jacques Rougerie and the Académie des beaux arts in Paris. His installation First Wave will be presented at COPART during COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9 to 20.

  1. Old paintings

David Spriggs, after Anthony van Dyck, Samson and Delilah, oil on canvas (photo: David Spriggs)

I’m a huge fan of old paintings and collect them myself. I love seeing how people painted the world before photography and learning about history through them. Van Dyck is one of my favourites. I’m amazed by what he could do with paint, and I even made a full-size copy of one of his paintings.

  1. Forests

(photo: David Spriggs)

I live next to a forest on Vancouver Island. It wasn’t until I moved here that I really understood what a forest is. I’ve learnt so much about trees, their ecosystems, and the difference between ancient and replanted forests. I was shocked by how much has already been lost. It’s tragic. Old growth forests must be protected.

  1. Architecture

Salisbury Cathedral, UK (photo: David Spriggs)

I love walking into a breathtaking space that makes me feel something. Art museums and cathedrals are some of my favourites. I enjoy reading Rem Koolhaas’s writing about architecture. He has such a great way of thinking about space.

  1. Philosophy

Sometimes I get stuck on the first page of a book, thinking too much. But an idea can stay with me and make me see something differently. I often come back to Virilio and Baudrillard. I wish I had more time to spend with their writing.

  1. Stone sculpture

David Spriggs, Liminal State, 1998, sandstone

I collect original marble and alabaster sculptures, and have carved stone myself. I made Liminal State, a sleeping figure, from a two tonne block of sandstone. I bought the stone with the $500 I won from the Immigrants of Distinction Award when I was nineteen. Michelangelo’s unfinished sculptures inspired me, with their figures emerging from the stone. That idea of something between states is still there in my work today.

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