The "Another World" body of work is a profound late-career statement from the beloved artist and educator Denny?Griffith. Through sweeping, wax-enriched panels populated with buoyant, alien creatures, Griffith invites us into landscapes that balance whimsy and existential weight. These are not paintings about illness—they are about the vibrancy of being alive. The paintings feature surreal, biomorphic creatures—amoeba-like beings supported by ladders, crutches, or stands—set against hazy horizons of saturated color. The whimsical shapes are cartoonish, surreal, and joyfully strange. This was Griffith's valedictory body of work, created during his final years after retiring as president of CCAD and facing a cancer diagnosis. Despite the illness, he insisted these paintings are celebrations of life, buoyed by exuberance, resilience, and the artist’s unshakeable spirit.
Dennison W. Griffith (1952 - 2016) remains a beloved and significant part of the Columbus arts community. Denny explored multiple disciplines throughout his artistic career, including painting, drawing, and photography. His work has been included in more than 90 group and solo exhibitions domestically and abroad. He is represented in the collections of public institutions such as The Butler Institute of American Art, The Columbus Museum of Art, the Columbus Metropolitan Library, the Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center, and the China Academy of Art (Hangzhou, China). Denny was the third President of the Columbus College of Art and Design, was appointed to the position in May 1998, and retired after sixteen years of service in June 2014. During his presidency, he oversaw the doubling of the size of the campus, the erection of the College’s iconic ten-story-high ART sculpture, as well as growth in CCAD’s academic, community outreach, and exhibition programs. A Master of Fine Arts program was added, and the college moved to incorporate business curricula into the art and design curricula during his tenure. For the decade prior to his appointment to CCAD, he worked at the Columbus Museum of Art in several capacities including Deputy Director. He also served on the boards of The Columbus Partnership, Experience Columbus, and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASDA)—the leading accreditation agency for the art and design field in this country.