NVG gets thumbs up as sardonic response to Brexit added to permanent collection

The National Gallery of Victoria has given a huge thumbs-up to the purchase of one of the United Kingdom’s best-known sculptures.

David Shrigley in front of Realy Good. Picture: Tim Caraffa

The National Gallery of Victoria has acquired one of Britain’s best known contemporary sculptures, with David Shrigley’s monumental cast-bronze thumbs-up Really Good – a sardonic response to Brexit – to become part of the institution’s permanent collection.

The 7m tall artwork, featuring a hand and its comically elongated raised thumb, has been purchased with the Felton Bequest. On display at the NGV entrance as part of its Triennial exhibition, Really Good is the third major sculpture acquired by director Tony Ellwood since December, thanks to the bequest – now in its 120th year – and a fundraising effort that has pooled $9m for the purchase of new works.

Turner Prize-nominated Shrigley has a long association with the NGV, having held a retrospective of his famous illustrations there in 2014. The artist has two works featuring in this year’s Triennial: Really Good, and his large-scale Melbourne Tennis Ball Exchange, where audiences are invited to swap new balls for old.

Really Good was intended as a satirical response to Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. But Shrigley soon realised the work should be open to interpretation. “Artworks change, depending on the context in which they are shown, and new meaning is created as the artwork travels,” he said of the acquisition. “I am delighted it has found a permanent home in Australia.”

The English artist, 55, shot to prominence in London in 2016, when Really Good was chosen as the winner of the Fourth Plinth Project.

Shrigley’s gargantuan thumbs-up became an instant hit, ­especially with Britons disillusioned with the Brexit debate.

“Originally I was talking about it in the context of Brexit,” Shrigley said. “But now I realise this work is a positive intervention. It’s an artwork that’s both sarcastic and ­sincere.”

Really Good was shipped to Australia late last year. Its voyage was tracked live by the artist’s studio, and followed keenly by hundreds of thousands of the softly spoken artist’s fans.

The 7m tall Realy Good. Picture: Tim Caraffa

The NGV would not confirm the purchase price of the work, but Shrigley, represented by London gallerist Stephen Friedman, is in demand. Last year his sculpture Memorial, a 5m high sandstone cenotaph inscribed not with the names of fallen soldiers but grocery items, sold at auction for $250,000.

He is best known by his legion of fans – he has more than a million followers on Instagram – for his darkly humorous illustrations.

Ellwood said of Shrigley: “He captures our life, times and culture with an irreverent and universal visual language that resonates around the world. Really Good exemplifies his creative world view.”

The Australian revealed on December 2 the NGV had acquired two large-scale works by British sculptor Thomas J. Price, also featuring in the Triennial. Reaching Out and All In were purchased with the assistance of The Felton, Neville and Diana Bertalli, and the Loti and Victor Smorgon Fund.

The acquisitions push is widely seen as part of a plan to bolster the gallery’s contemporary collection ahead of the planned opening of its new building in 2028. The Fox, named for Lindsay and Paula Fox who have donated $100m to the project, will be a dedicated gallery for contemporary art.

Featuring more than 120 artists, including Yoko Ono and Tracey Emin, The Triennial is on track to approach one million visitors by the time it concludes on April 7.

The Felton Bequest, established after the death of businessman and philanthropist Alfred Felton in 1904, funds acquisitions for the NGV and makes contributions to charitable funds.