Grayson Perry

Sir Grayson Perry
CBE RA Hon FRIBA
Perry in 2007
Born (1960-03-24) 24 March 1960 (age 64)
Bicknacre, Chelmsford, Essex, England
EducationPortsmouth University
Known forFine art
SpousePhilippa Perry
ChildrenFlo Perry
Awards
Elected
Patron(s)Charles Saatchi
Grayson Perry's voice
From the BBC Reith Lectures, 15 October 2013
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Sir Grayson Perry CBE RA Hon FRIBA (born 24 March 1960) is an English artist. He is known for his ceramic vases, tapestries,[1] and cross-dressing, as well as his observations of the contemporary arts scene, and for dissecting British "prejudices, fashions and foibles".[2]

Perry's vases have classical forms and are decorated in bright colours, depicting subjects at odds with their attractive appearance. There is a strong autobiographical element in his work, in which images of Perry as "Claire", his female alter-ego, and "Alan Measles", his childhood teddy bear, often appear. He has made a number of documentary television programmes[3] and has curated exhibitions.[2] He has published two autobiographies, Grayson Perry: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl (2007) and The Descent of Man (2016), written and illustrated a graphic novel, Cycle of Violence (2012), written a book about art, Playing to the Gallery (2014), and published his illustrated Sketchbooks (2016). Various books describing his work have been published. In 2013 he delivered the BBC Reith Lectures.[4]

Perry has had solo exhibitions at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh,[5] and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan.[5] His work is held in the permanent collections of the British Council and Arts Council,[5] Crafts Council,[6] Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam,[7] Tate[8] and Victoria and Albert Museum, London.[9]

Perry was awarded the Turner Prize in 2003. He was interviewed about the win and resulting press in Sarah Thornton's Seven Days in the Art World.[10] In 2008 he was ranked number 32 in The Daily Telegraph's list of the "100 most powerful people in British culture".[11] In 2012, Perry was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork—the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover—to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life.[12]

  1. ^ Moore, Suzanne (8 June 2013). "Grayson Perry's tapestries: weaving class and taste". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b Cole, Alison (29 May 2015). "Grayson Perry: Provincial Punk loses his edge". The Independent. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference guardian-raeside was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Kelner, Simon (16 October 2013). "How Grayson Perry and The Reith Lectures will restore your faith in the BBC". The Independent. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference bc-vanity was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference cc-collection was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference stedelijk-collection was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference rare-collection was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference vam-collection was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Thornton, Sarah (2 November 2009). Seven days in the art world. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393337129. OCLC 489232834.
  11. ^ "The 100 most powerful people in British culture". The Daily Telegraph. 11 November 2016.
  12. ^ Davies, Caroline (12 November 2016). "New faces on Sgt Pepper album cover for artist Peter Blake's 80th birthday". The Guardian.