Grayson Perry

Every inch of Grayson's childhood bedroom was covered with pictures of aeroplanes, and every surface with models. But as Grayson enters art college and discovers the world of London squats and New Romanticism, he starts to find himself.

A fully illustrated catalogue of new work and texts by Sir Grayson Perry to accompany a landmark exhibition at the Wallace Collection in celebration of the artist's 65th birthday.This publication accompanies a major exhibition created and curated by Grayson Perry at the Wallace Collection. The Collection’s famous portrait of Madame de Pompadour (1759) by François Boucher has long fascinated Perry, as have a great many other pieces including its superb group of portrait miniatures and an early eighteenth-century bronze of Mezzetin, soulfully strumming his guitar. Perry has created a fictional persona, Shirley Smith, who believes herself to be the rightful heir to Hertford House’s treasures – and indeed, the entire Wallace Collection. Through this identity, a series of new artworks have been made – inspired and influenced by those in the Collection – intended to decorate an imagined family home, complete with ancestral portraits, Old Masters and priceless antiques. Delusions of Grandeur presents this fantasy world and playfully explores themes including the meaning of home and how it creates a sense of safety, the gendering of decoration, perfection versus authenticity, and the exquisite and pretty versus the brutality and pomp of masculinity. And through the backstory of Shirley Smith, the transformative and healing nature of art is demonstrated.This book presents Perry’s new works in a variety of media: ceramic, sculpture, textile and works on paper, which themselves complement the diversity and range of objects found within the Collection itself. This landmark exhibition marking Perry’s 65th birthday is both a meditation and an introspection and offers an elaborate commentary on the very nature of making and collecting art.

'The Tomb of an Unknown Craftsman is of a treasure hoard from a distinct civilisation. The difference is that it is a civilisation of one. The territory it springs from is my imagination. ... The relationship between my personal themes and obsessions and the vastness of world culture as represented in the British Museum is like a narrow pilgrimage trail across an infinite plain.’ - Grayson Perry Grayson Perry’s centrepiece to this fascinating journey is a major artwork: a metal tomb in the form of a ship, encrusted with reliefs and artistic cargo based on, or actually cast from, objects in the collection of the British Museum. The occupant sails into the afterlife surrounded by the talismans of many faiths and peoples. This is a memorial to all the anonymous craftsmen that over the centuries have fashioned the man-made wonders of the world, many of which are on display in the Museum. Around the tomb, the other artworks - ceramics, tiles, cast metal sculpture, textiles and prints - are laid out in ritualistic symmetry as if they once belonged somewhere else. Alongside his own works, Grayson Perry presents a personal selection of objects from the British Museum that are the inspiration for his pieces or connected strongly with them thematically or aesthetically. Including an introduction by Grayson Perry and lavishly illustrated, this book takes us to the fantasy world of a contemporary artist who never fails to challenge and unsettle his audience.

"The Turner Prize winner leads a visual tour through his life in six artworks - from college days to knighthood." — Telegraph Grayson Perry is one of Britain’s most celebrated contemporary artists and cultural figures. This book, which includes first sight of new and previously unpublished works, is published to accompany the largest-ever retrospective of Perry’s art. It offers a vibrant insight into his life and work, from his youth in rural Essex to sell-out stage shows at the Royal Albert Hall. Grayson Perry vividly reflects on his art, life and career, remembering the sources of inspiration and influences along the way. Victoria Coren Mitchell’s thought-provoking contribution considers the role of humour in Perry’s art, highlighting the often-underestimated effort involved in being at once a serious artist and a lovable character. Patrick Elliott provides an illuminating biographical essay of the artist. The reader is also given a fascinating glimpse into the technique and process behind Perry’s prints, pots and tapestries. Showcasing 75 exhibited works, the book covers the full range and breadth of his astonishing career.

'A breeze of a read, makes you see our male-manufactured world a little differently' Matt Haig'GRAYSON PERRY FOR KING AND QUEEN OF ENGLAND. Imagine how BRILLIANT our country would look if he was' Caitlin MoranGrayson Perry has been thinking about masculinity - what it is, how it operates, why little boys are thought to be made of slugs and snails - since he was a boy. Now, in this funny and necessary book, he turns round to look at men with a clear eye and ask, what sort of men would make the world a better place, for everyone?What would happen if we rethought the old, macho, outdated version of manhood, and embraced a different idea of what makes a man? Apart from giving up the coronary-inducing stress of always being 'right' and the vast new wardrobe options, the real benefit might be that a newly fitted masculinity will allow men to have better relationships - and that's happiness, right?Grayson Perry admits he's not immune from the stereotypes himself - as the psychoanalysts say, 'if you spot it, you've got it' - and his thoughts on everything from power to physical appearance, from emotions to a brand new Manifesto for Men, are shot through with honesty, tenderness and the belief that, for everyone to benefit, upgrading masculinity has to be something men decide to do themselves. They have nothing to lose but their hang-ups.

'I have never read such a stimulating short guide to art' Lynn Barber, Sunday Times Now Grayson Perry is a fully paid-up member of the art establishment, he wants to show that any of us can appreciate art (after all, there is a reason he's called this book Playing to the Gallery and not 'Sucking up to an Academic Elite'). Based on his hugely popular BBC Radio 4 Reith Lectures and full of pictures, this funny, personal journey through the art world answers the basic questions that might occur to us in an art gallery but seem too embarrassing to ask.

Grayson Perry's book will overturn everything you thought you knew about "art" Now Grayson Perry is a fully paid-up member of the art establishment, he wants to show that any of us can appreciate art (after all, there is a reason he's called this book Playing to the Gallery and not Sucking Up to the Academic Elite). This funny, personal journey through the art world answers the basic questions that might occur to us in an art gallery but that we're too embarrassed to ask. Questions such as: What is "good" or "bad" art--and does it even matter? Is art still capable of shocking us or have we seen it all before? And what happens if you place a piece of art in a rubbish dump?

Since winning the Turner Prize in 2003, the celebrated transvestite potter Grayson Perry (born 1960) has become something of a national institution in the U.K. In 1992, some while before he became known, Atlas Press published Perry's sole graphic novel, Cycle of Violence, the nightmarish tale of a young cyclist and transvestite, now reprinted in a handsome hardcover edition. Of the work's genesis, Perry wrote: "When I was 12 or 13 I drew a series of short comic strip adventures featuring an idealized male hero. When puberty hit me those boys' own tales became increasingly kinky, involving much cross-dressing and bondage. Sadly these reports from my young subconscious were lost in the upheavals of adolescence. Twenty years later I drew Cycles of Violence while facing up to becoming a father myself, and once again my imagination became an open wound."