Humorous Art

Humour in Art

Comedy and the arts have gone hand in hand for many years. From Marcel Duchamp to David Shrigley, artists of great originality and genius have valued comedy as a major part of their creative mission. This has been documented since the times of Ancient Greeks, when this idea was conceptualised by the likes of Aristotle. And is just as true today as it was then. In the 20th century, the Dadaist movement for instance was a hive of anarchic humour. We might also think about the surrealist movement as one which has comedy at its core, led by pioneers such as René Magritte. From the 1970s and 80s onwards, the world of street art has also been host to much lively humour, especially in terms of parody and satire.

Reversing Norms & Upending Expections

Often, comedy is used to pull apart traditionally held ideas, to reverse norms, and to upend expectations. This is not to say that there can't also be a kind of celebratory, warm humour in art too. There are lots of different shades of humorous art, many of which you will be able to explore in our collection.

Quirky Art

As well as the artworks which are purposefully designed to encourage you to laugh, there is also art which you will be able to see in our collection of a different kind. This art is not necessarily designed to illicit laughter, but it still has a humorous spirit driving it forwards. Quirky in design, these pieces of art take a sideways glance at many different aspects in society. Many will be satirical in nature, whilst others are simply doing their own refreshing thing, offering an interesting, new, and in many cases avant-garde twist on the kind of images you might expect to see in modern day culture.