The Work Of Grayson Perry

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Influences and Motivation in the Work of Grayson Perry

Grayson Perry was born in Chelmsford in 1960. He is a Turner Prize-winning artist who specialises mainly in ceramic vases and tapestries which are highly decorated with bright colours and markings. (Perry, 2016)

Perry’s early family life was difficult, and he was just 7 years old when his parents split up. Perry has always described his father’s departure as having the single biggest impact on him throughout his life. (Jones, 2006)

Perry soon took an interest in drawing and building model aeroplanes, which offered some escape from his difficult home life and violent stepfather. Following encouragement from his art teacher, Perry made the “fateful decision” to study art. (Jones, 2006)

He completed an art foundation course at Braintree College in 1979, before studying for a BA in fine art at Portsmouth Polytechnic, where he graduated in 1982. The following year, Perry started Pottery lessons, making glazed plates with text that drew on his own experiences, often sexual. His first exhibition of ceramics was in London in December 1983.

In 2002, Perry had a major solo exhibition in Amsterdam. A year later he was awarded the Turner Prize, and was praised for his “uncompromising engagement with personal and social concerns”. (Tate, 2003)

Since then, Perry has been the curator of major exhibitions, written books and been involved in TV and other media, while continuing his work in ceramics. Perry incorporates such “traditions” as Greek pottery and folk art into his work. He has said, “I like the whole iconography of pottery. It hasn’t got any big pretensions to being great public works of art, and no matter how brash a statement I make… it will always have certain humilit...

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... system. [online] Available at http:// www.telegraph.co.uk Accessed on 17th May 2016.

Perry, G (2014). Playing to the gallery. London: Penguin Books Ltd.

Miro, V (2016). Review: Exhibits of Work by Grayson Perry [online] Available at: http:// www.victoria-miro.com Accessed on 30th May 2016.

The Guardian. Wilson, B (2016). Art and Design: Sketchbooks by Grayson Perry. Review – “Daft notions that later became art” [online]
Available at: http:// www.theguardian.com Accessed on 2nd June 2016.

The influence Perry has taken from William Hogarth and the religious paintings is an effort to contextualize his work. Understanding where Perry derives his influence makes the work much richer and assessable for doing so. In my own practice, I am just becoming aware of how important it is to research and allow myself and my work to be influenced by other artists.

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