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.

Stilted

Acrylic on panel, 18 x 21.5 in, $4,500.00

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The Most Prolific Ostrich In Maine

Acrylic on panel, 10 in diameter, SOLD

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Mr. Lambskin

Acrylic on panel, 10 in diameter, SOLD

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High And Dry

Acrylic on panel, 18 x 21.5 in, SOLD

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Birds-Eye View

Acrylic on panel, 13.5 x 15 in, $2,900.00

The bird launcher was created on a long-running theory that originates in human psychology. The idea is that if someone or something is convinced they can do something through example and repetition, then what might have been considered impossible becomes possible and even expected. This so-called “Monkey See” theory was tested on flightless birds, where an inventive rocket was saddled on ostriches and used to assist penguins high into the atmosphere. The expectation was that they would eventually be convinced they could fly just like any other bird and defy their heritage.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Ice Cream-berg

Acrylic on panel, 24 x 29.5 in, $8,000.00

It’s thought that the Chinese invented the first ice cream, while the man who tried to turn it into a streamlined process was Mitchel Farnsworth. Mitchel spent years developing absurd steps that would produce ice cream in an environmentally thoughtful manner. He was an early advocate for utilizing natural resources to help scale up production. Oddly, today he is best known for creating the first slushie—the perfect blend of a slurp-able and scoopable frozen treat.

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Cathedrabath

Acrylic on panel, 15 x 16 in, $3,200.00

This half bath, half lounger was Bart Gillespie’s brainchild. After getting out of a bath one evening and making himself an extra strong old-fashioned, Bart retired to his easy chair to enjoy his drink and mull the day’s events. While sitting there, he began to wonder, “Why am I choosing to relax? Why couldn’t these two relaxing spots come together to be one?” This moment was the spark for the Cathedrabath, a one-of-kind lounging masterpiece.

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The Forest Confessional

Acrylic on panel, 15 x 16 in, $3,200.00

The most unusual invention to come out of the woods was initially created for a different purpose. Originally, Arch-Bishop Jamie Abernathy developed the Forest Confessional as a bird blind for grouse hunting. Upon seeing the overwhelming interest by the local wildlife, James put the rifle down and put on the cassock. Abernathy claimed that nature would repent many of their sins and express remorse for their previous evening’s meal.

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Songbird Exhortation Manipulation (test pair #4)

Acrylic on panel, 16 x 15 in, $3,200.00

Nicholas Copernicus, a sound engineer for Victrola, dreamt up the mega-cage system. It was used to see if the ambient hum of an air conditioning unit or fan could influence the mood of paired songbirds, causing them to fall out of love. The tests were conducted for a more extensive theory, where aggressively breeding bird species could be culled by creating disinterest in mating due to a lack of passion.

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