SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Unpopular Culture Grayson Perry selects from the Arts Council Collection

Unpopular Culture Grayson Perry selects from the Arts Council CollectionGrayson Perry was catapulted into the public consciousness in 2003 when he won the Turner Prize, accepting his award dressed as his transvestite alter ego, Claire. A unique figure in the international art scene, Perry is best known for his ceramic coil pots which he adorns with subject matter ranging from his childhood in Essex, his transvestism, and his reflections on British art and society. Perhaps less recognized is Perry’s role as a curator. This exhibition highlights this recent aspect of Perry’s practice and offers a unique and personal view of the Arts Council Collection. Perry’s selection will be presented alongside new work made by him in response to the Collection.

Following the recent success of The Charms of Lincolnshire – a critically acclaimed exhibition selected by the artist from the museums of Lincolnshire – Perry has now turned his attention to the Arts Council Collection: the largest loan collection of modern and contemporary British art in the world. Unsurprisingly for an artist who has always positioned himself on the margins of the art world, the ‘tranny potter from Essex’ has found himself drawn to art made ‘before British art became fashionable’.

Perry’s selection features modern British paintings, sculpture and photographs that embody a quiet nostalgia and restraint. Rather than retreat into a world of rose-tinted romanticism, Perry presents an alternative view of British art, one that reassesses the relationship between past and present, and questions the boundaries between the radical, the conservative, and the radically conservative.

Tour Information:


10 May – 6 Jul 2008
De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill on Sea

19 Jul – 14 Sep 2008
Harris Museum, Preston

20 Sep – 9 Nov 2008
AVAILABLE

29 Nov 2008 – 4 Jan 2009
DLI Museum & Durham Art Gallery, Durham

16 Jan – 15 Mar 2009
Southampton City Art Gallery, Southampton

21 Mar – 10 May 2009
Aberystwyth Art Gallery, Aberystwyth

16 May – 5 Jul 2009
Scarborough Art Gallery, Scarborough

18 Jul – 25 Oct 2009
Southbank Centre Longside Gallery, Wakefield

7 Nov 2009 – 3 Jan 2010
Victoria Art Gallery, Bath 

 

For more information on this exhibition please contact Natalie Rudd Natalie.rudd@southbankcentre.co.uk

(Image credit: copyright Eric Great Rex)