Tony Griffin

About

Prior to studying at the RCA I gained an MA(distinction) in Fine Art from the University of Brighton.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My paintings are constructed rather than painted. Drawing on materials made familiar through years of hands-on experience as a painter and decorator, such as plasterers’ scrim, masking tape, and vinyl emulsion, I playfully manipulate these elements into layered compositions that explore humankind’s current predicament at the intersection of physical and digital experience.

Growing up in the small industrial port town of Holyhead, I was shaped by a working-class culture where manual labour played a defining role, and as a former competitive martial artist, my experience of the world has always been intensely physical. This embodied perspective is central to my practice. My paintings often carry a digital aesthetic, yet remain grounded in the tactile reality of making—the texture of surfaces, the force of gesture, the resistance of materials. Each work channels movement, translating the rhythm and energy of the body into visual form.

My practice inhabits the emerging “phygital” space, where tactile processes meet digital sensibilities. My paintings act as reminders that, as we render, code, and simulate, we stand on the shoulders of the manual worker who carved and built in rhythm with nature; affirming the value of physical experience in an increasingly virtual world. At its heart, my work is a meditation on presence and possibility, encouraging us to stay grounded while embracing the expanding dimensions of perception and reality.