Alongside the old masters, Renaissance classics and works of the Glasgow Boys, there may be something a ­little weirder next summer.

For the first time, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is to be part of the Glasgow International ­(Gi) festival of contemporary art. Scattered among the best-loved exhibits, there will be “subversive” work from David Shrigley, one of the UK’s most popular modern artists.

Shrigley, who is best-known for his drawings and cartoons, sold in postcard packs and soft-cover books, will be filling more than a dozen glass display cases in the museum with some realistic and bizarre sculptures – often involving taxidermy – as part of his headline show for the festival.

Originally from Leicestershire, Shrigley has lived in Glasgow for 20 years and says he is keen to display his work in the Kelvingrove so that it can be “a little bit subversive”.

Some of the artist’s previous sculptures include a stuffed cat holding a sign saying “I’m Dead”, a tent apparently full of cream, enormous peas, a bell with a sign that reads: “Not to be rung again until Jesus returns”, and a fake lettuce leaf full of ­cigarette burns.

Shrigley said he had been particularly inspired by the arms and armour displays

at Kelvingrove and the museum’s traditional mix of exhibits, from fine art to animals and back again.

He said: “The pieces will all be in display cases, in ­vitrines, and so they will be part of the very formal context of the museum.

“I think it will be fun. It will be somewhat my intention to subvert the context of the museum – you have to be a little subversive and play with people’s expectations.

“I always liked to go down and visit the Kelvingrove when it was a crusty old, dusty place, before the ­refurbishment. It is a much more functional place now.

“But it is still the only place that resembles the old kind of crowded museum. I don’t think it is designed for me now – it’s probably great if you are aged about 12.

“There are 16 display cases free, so there will be at least 16 exhibits, and I will be doing some works for the drawers in the Study Centre as well, so it is one of my biggest projects. I cannot say exactly what I will be doing, but it will probably involve a bit of taxidermy.”

Mark O’Neill, head of arts and museums for Culture and Sport Glasgow, which runs the museum, said: “We are delighted by this. It is fantastic. It shows the talent that Katrina Brown [director of the Glasgow International festival] can bring.

“[Shrigley] is a ­Glasgow artist who knows the museum and will bring some humour and wit to the way we look at the museum and the objects in it – how we enjoy museums and the ways that they work.”

Ms Brown said: “David is known for his drawings but he has always made sculptures too. Having seen his sculpture work abroad, I thought it would be amazing to see some of it in ­Glasgow, with the Kelvingrove.

“Kelvingrove seemed to be the obvious place. It is the kind of museum that has all different exhibits, from fine art to animals, so I thought it might be the place where you could see some of his work anyway: a headless cat, strange objects with things coming out of them.

“I have seen one sculpture by him that is a bronze walnut, except the size of his head, that shows he is a very skilled sculptor.

“But he takes things and there is always something very odd about it.

“David is a polymorphous artist. He has done endless different types of work and the Kelvingrove is a perfect place for him.”

The exhibition is due to open on April 16 next year.