The Mighty Zephyrus
Acrylic on panel, 42 x 57.5 in, SOLD
Tyson Grumm
Grumm’s paintings invite us into a parallel world where fantastical animals come alive and eccentricities are born. His images appear as if freeze-framed from a surreal film, so rich and full of narrative, we catch only a moment of a much larger story yet to be told. Grounded in a hint of the commonplace – a recognizable object, a conversant glance between two figures, a charming nostalgia – Grumm uses these familiarities as a point of connection and departure. A boat becomes a backpack, a chair is fit for a bighorn sheep, a ping-pong table hosts a match between an ostrich and a beaver, a rocket ship reveals a rhino. Created entirely in the mind of the artist, his figures often hold historical significance, appearing to be both characters and caricatures, distinctive and unusual. These colorful and unique works engage our imagination in endless possibilities, leaving behind breadcrumb clues to a path only traveled along by dreamers.
Tyson Grumm was born in Newcastle, Wyoming, in 1972. He studied at Southern Oregon University where he received his Bachelors in Fine Art in 1996.
Teeter Totter Water Totter
Acrylic on panel, 24 x 36 in, $9,000.00
The ongoing complexity of weighing and documenting certain wildlife species has always been a massive task, usually involving tranquilizing
the animals so that it can be checked in relative safety. With the introduction of the water totter,
a fresh new scheme to approach this dilemma for larger animal life was hatched. The idea was to use some form of bait on one end of the sea-saw that would encourage the animal to climb up onto the undulating buoy. At that point the mechanism would register an accurate weight and
then gently drop its subject back into the water. Loosely tested for a few seasons, the water totter seemed like it was more work than payoff and the
tranquilizer method was put back into practice.
Jumbuck Wooly Weather Apparatus (circa 1999)
Acrylic on panel, 15 x 16 in, $3,200.00
This obscure cupola-like backpack was the perfect solution to weather on the go. It was never mass produced but used sporadically in
the Scottish Highlands at the turn of the century. Its challenging size and weight required that the Jumbuck be transferred periodically from mutton
back to mutton back.
Hippotosis Tester
Acrylic on panel, 16 x 24 in, $4,200.00
The Harstrom Halitosis tester was a nature-based testing apparatus inspired by coal mine canaries
used for early carbon monoxide warnings. This sentinel idea was investigated to test levels of bad breath in an office environment to alert coworkers while also taking advantage of the soft sounds of these songbirds.