Jude Griebel

b. 1978, Ottawa, Canada; Lives and works in Canada and New York

Jude Griebel’s practice explores the crisis of planetary collapse. With a focus on contemporary human behaviors such as consumption, the factory food system, land depletion and waste production, Griebel’s works are objective yet fantastical depictions of humanity’s complex and destructive connection to the surrounding world. Within each work, the artist weaves symbolism, diverse cultural references, and scientific reality to produce intricate portrayals of the cycles of human consumption, eco-anxiety and planetary decline. These portrayals force the viewer to scrutinize their entanglement with the surrounding world and to not only question their habitual behaviors but to acknowledge those behaviors’ imminent and detrimental impact on the planet. 

Having grown up in rural Alberta, Canada, Griebel has a particularly deep appreciation for the natural landscape, has first-hand knowledge of farming culture and has personally witnessed environmental degradation due to contemporary consumption and industrial development. Primarily a figurative sculptor, he works with myriad materials including clay, textiles, hand-carved woods and papier-mâché and employs a combination of techniques such as modeling, carving and constructing to produce his sculptural forms. The artist allows his work to be inspired by a variety of presentation models, from the grotesque embodiments of the Renaissance, to the morphing characters of mid-century cartoons, to the dioramas of natural history museum displays, to traditionally scientific didactic miniatures, which imbues each sculptural figure with a distinctly playful yet traditional disposition.  The artist’s works are staged and dramatic presentations of impactful and destructive events and urge the viewer to consider the physical and psychological implications of a planet in crisis. 

Jude Griebel graduated with a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, Canada.  He later completed an MFA International Exchange at the University of Lapland in Finland before completing his Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture and Ceramics from Concordia University in Canada. He has participated in numerous artist residencies, including those at AIR 3331 in Tokyo, Japan; Le Carmel de Pamiers in France; the College Art Galleries at the University of Saskatchewan; Pioneer Works in Brooklyn; The International Studio and Curatorial Program in Brooklyn; MAAS MoCA Studios at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art; Kunstnarhuset Messen in Alvik, Norway; Halle 14 Center for Contemporary Art in Leipzig, Germany; MiZ Istanbul; Ted Harrison Artist Retreat Society in the Yukon, Canada; The Vermont Studio Center; and the Banff Center for the Arts in Canada, to name only a few. Throughout his career, Griebel has been awarded several notable grants and honors, namely the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Project Grant, the Canada Council for the Arts Project Grant, the Canada Council Travel Grant, The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Marketing Grant, the Leo Paul Rampsperger Award in Sculpture and Ceramics, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Graduate Scholarship, and the Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation Visual Arts Grant. The artist has been a guest lecturer at institutions including The School of Visual Arts in New York, the Alberta University of the Arts in Calgary, The University of Alberta in Edmonton, The University of Calgary, and Dawson College in Montreal. 

Griebel has been extensively featured in exhibitions at cultural institutions across Canada, most recently the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton, the Southern Alberta Art Gallery in Lethbridge, the Illingworth Kerry Gallery at the Alberta University of the Arts in Calgary, the FoFA Gallery at Concordia University in Montreal, the Kenderdine Art Gallery at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, The Beaty Museum of Biodiversity at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, the Telus Spark Science Center in Calgary, the Touchstones Nelson Museum of Art and History in Nelson, the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Center in Medicine Hat, and the Nickle Galleries at the University of Calgary. Additionally, his work has been featured in institutional exhibitions internationally at El Museo de Los Sures in Brooklyn, NY; the Spinnerei Archiv Massiv in Leipzig, Germany; Jyväskylä in Finland; The Museum Lytke in Leipzig, Gamery; and Galleria Kajo III at the University of Lapland in Finland. Griebel’s work has been featured in numerous print and online publications including CBC News, Galleries West, The Edmonton Journal, The Star Phoenix, Hyperallergic, RACAR Canadian Art Review, Calgary Herald, Swerve Magazine, Canadian Art Magazine, Art + Design Magazine, Magenta Magazine, Vue Weekly, The Concordian, and The National Gallery of Canada Magazine. Griebel’s work is now found internationally in permanent collections including but not limited to the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (Canada), the Art Gallery of Alberta (Canada), the Frans Masereel Centrum (Belgium), the Colart Contemporary Canadian Art Collection (Canada), the Sakima Art Museum (Japan), the Equitable Bank Group (Canada), the Shaw Center for Contemporary Ceramics (Canada), Silpakorn University (Thailand), Silvercorp Mining (Canada), and the Volpert Foundation (USA). The artist is based in New York, NY.