Don's profile
Don Griffin was born in Washington, DC, the younger of two children and moved to Baltimore when he was three [3] years of age. As a child he discovered drawing. His Grandmother once inquired why he drew one legged Westerns ? He replied, when you look at them from the side you can only see one leg. Art stuck with him throughout his school years. He later studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Griffin says it was here he actually discovered that he really was an artist. Revealed while listening to a lecture on his major [Interior Design], he said it hit him like a freight train, I'm an Artist! What a revelation!
Griffin`s first encounter with exhibitions occurred at an organized event held at the Sphinx Club on Pennsylvania Avenue. He had two Realist works in the show. It is said that he also stopped exhibiting right after that show. Later, his father entered a Realist Painting in a government exhibition. An offer was made to purchase the work and this stimulated him to go on. His next bout with exhibitions was not until the eighties, when he joined the Maryland Art League. It seems everything that came along, as an opportunity to exhibit Griffin would accommodate.
After a few years with the Art League, Don and his Sister became founding members of the Art Gallery of Fells Point. He held the elected office of First Vice President and his Sister became Treasurer.In the late eighties he contacted a gallery owner Henrietta Ersham, who owned the HENRI GALLERY in Washington, DC. Henri saw much potential in his work and decided to represent him. During that span of time, he was primarily noted for his “Soft Sculpture” work. Henri was a supporter of avant- garde artists and Griffin gravitated toward the third dimension.
In 1996 he was selected by Art Communication International for inclusion in the most comprehensive Compact Disk Collection of contemporary art ever assembled. The Best Contemporary Art CD-ROM Series, The Juried Collection 1996. It contains artwork from 326 artists selected by a Jury of art professionals from 10,000 slides submitted as a result of a worldwide call for entries. Griffin was also selected for “VIRTUOSITY,” an eternal exhibition a virtual Art Fair in New York City and the first and largest Juried Art Exhibition ever assembled on interactive 3-D CD-ROM. Selected by a distinguished panel of jurors from the following galleries: Allan Stone Gallery, New York / O.K.Harris Gallery, New York / Pamela Auchincloss Gallery, New York / Kouros Gallery, New York / Curt Marcus Gallery, New York / Knoedler & Company, New York / and David Rubin, Curator 20th Century Art Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona. In 2008, the Baltimore Hilton Convention Center Hotel acquired several Griffin Art Works for it's permanent collection. In 2009, Don Griffin was selected by Susan Davidson, curator of the Solomon Guggenheim Museum in New York for the "Tribute to Rauschenberg Exhibition" held at the Gulf Coast Museum in Port Arthur, Texas.The "Tribute to Rauschenberg Exhibition" Announcement Card featured Griffin's Tribute work entitled " Port Arthur".
In 2003 Griffin and Larry Scott founded the arts organization "Internationale ComZee project." An organization engaged to interact with the community and with a focus on providing Exhibition Opportunities for emerging Fine Artists, Writer`s and Musicians of Distinction. Later, he partnered with Harris Fine Arts LLC. and Contemporary Arts Inc. to expand the audio visual collaborations cross culturally and to young people.
Subsequently, his work has been shown in numerous Galleries, Universities, Artscapes, Exhibitions and in Distinguished Collections throughout the Country. He has received various awards and accolades for his cutting edge, diverse assemblage, mixed media, sculpture and site installations.
Exhibition Venues:
Gulf Coast Museum, Dishman Gallery, Port Arthur, Texas-Conrad Wilde Gallery, Tucson, Arizona-Grand Hand Gallery, St. Paul, Minnesota-Beijing China Project, Beijing, China- Enoch Pratt Library, Baltimore, Maryland- Rockport Center for the Arts, Rockport, Texas-Marlboro Gallery, Prince George’s, Maryland-University of Baltimore Student Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland- AFP Exposition at the Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, Maryland-VSA Arts,Washington,DC-Huber Art Center, Ivan C, Karp, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania-Creative Alliance at The Patterson, Baltimore, Maryland-The Robeson Gallery, University Park, Pennsylvania- Artscape, Baltimore, Maryland-Decker Gallery, MICA, Baltimore, Maryland- Stocker Center Gallery, Elria, Ohio-Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, Maryland-Sassafras Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland-Cuyahoga Valley Art Center, Cuyahoga Falls,Ohio-Government House, Annapolis, Maryland-Pleiades Gallery, New York, New York- Wickenden Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio-Howard County Arts Center, Doreen Bolger, Baltimore Museum of Art, Ellicott City, Maryland-The Stage Gallery, Merrick, New York- The Floating Gallery, Carnegie Hall, New York, New York-HUB Art Galleries, State College, Pennsylvania-School 33 Arts Center, Olga Viso, Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC- Dundalk Community College, Baltimore, Maryland- Pascal Art Gallery, Arnold Maryland-Montpelier Cultural Arts Center, Laurel, Maryland- Henri Gallery, Washington, DC-Tomlinson Crafts Collection, Baltimore, Maryland-University of Maryland, Langsdale Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland- Gallery on The Circle / Grace Hartigan, Annapolis, Maryland-John Hopkins Turner Auditorium, Baltimore, Maryland-Art Gallery of Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland- Essex Community College, Baltimore, Maryland-Gallery II West, St. George, Utah-Eubie Blake Cultural Center, Baltimore, Maryland-Slayton House Gallery, Columbia, Maryland-MICA Pinkard Gallery, Bunting Center, Baltimore, MD-Cade Gallery, Arnold, Maryland-Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Baltimore, Maryland-Sub Basement Artist Studios, Baltimore Maryland-H&H Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland- Sowebo Arts Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland-Baltimore Book Festival, Baltimore, Maryland-Area 405, Baltimore, Maryland-Current Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland-Paperwork Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland-Bus Billboard Project, Baltimore, Maryland-Flux Factory, Long Island City, New York-Villa Julie College, Stevenson, Maryland-James E. Lewis Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland-Florida International University, Miami, FL-Public Art Sculpture, Baltimore, Maryland-Y-ART Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland-NAVE Gallery, Somerville, Massachusetts.
