LONDON.- The Serpentine has invited British artist Grayson Perry, one of the most astute commentators on contemporary society and culture, to present a major exhibition of new work. The works in the show touches on many themes including popularity and art, masculinity and the current cultural landscape.
Perry’s abiding interest in his audience informs his choice of universally human subjects. Working in a variety of traditional media such as ceramics, cast iron, bronze, printmaking and tapestry, Perry is best known for his ability to combine delicately crafted objects with scenes of contemporary life. His subject matter is drawn from his own childhood and life as a transvestite, as well as wider social issues ranging from class and politics to sex and religion.
Taking place during the Serpentine’s popular summer season, when the parks enjoy hugely increased local and international audiences, The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever!, tackles one of Perry’s central concerns: how contemporary art can best address a diverse cross section of society.
Perry said: “I am in the communication business and I want to communicate to as wide an audience as possible. Nothing pleases me more than meeting someone at one of my exhibitions from what museum people call ‘a nontraditional background.’ The new works I am making all have ideas about popularity hovering around them. What kind of art do people like? What subjects? Why do people like going to art galleries these days? What is the relationship of traditional art to social media?”
The Serpentine, with its global reputation as an open landscape for art and ideas, free entry and accessible location in a central London park, is an ideal venue for Perry to pose these questions.
A Channel 4 documentary Grayson Perry: Divided Britain followed Perry as he created a new work for the show: his attempt to capture the thoughts of a divided country a year after the EU referendum. Harnessing social media, Perry invited the British public to contribute ideas, images and phrases to cover the surface of two enormous new pots: one for the Brexiteers and one for the Remainers. He also visited the most pro-Brexit and pro-Remain parts of the country for the programme, which is available to watch on All4. See the pots, entitled Matching Pair, in The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever! at the Serpentine.
Born in Chelmsford, Essex in 1960, Grayson Perry lives and works in London. He is well known for major exhibitions such as the Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman at the British Museum (2011-2012), and A House for Essex, a collaboration with FAT Architecture situated in the North Essex countryside. He has also presented two BAFTA award-winning Channel 4 programmes: In the Best Possible Taste, which chronicled the making of his monumental suite of tapestries The Vanity of Small Differences and Grayson Perry: Who Are You?, which accompanied a solo presentation of works on the theme of portraiture and British identity at the National Portrait Gallery, London (2014-2015).
Perry is also a successful writer and lecturer – his latest book, The Descent of Man, published by Penguin, was accompanied by a national lecture tour, Typical Man in a Dress. Penguin will also publish a new catalogue for the Serpentine show, The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever!, available in bookshops from 22 June.
Grayson Perry has had major solo exhibitions nationally and internationally, including the critically acclaimed Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman at the British Museum in 2011; Hold Your Beliefs Lightly, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands, which travelled to ARoS Aarhus Art Museum, Aarhus, Denmark in 2015 – 2016; My Pretty Little Art Career, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2015; Provincial Punk, Turner Contemporary, Margate, 2015; and The Arts Council Collection and British Council-led UK and international tour of The Vanity of Small Differences. Winner of the 2003 Turner Prize, Perry was elected a Royal Academician in 2012. The following year, he received a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List and in 2015 was appointed Trustee of the British Museum and Chancellor of the University of the Arts London. In 2016, following on from his design of A House for Essex, Perry was awarded a RIBA Honorary Fellowship.
