'hold your beliefs lightly' Grayson Perry




Yesterday friend M. and I travelled south by train to Maastricht, so we could one: meet up with my parents and two: the four of us could see the Grayson Perry exhibition in the Bonnefanten museum. It is one of those rare museum visits where you walk around with a huge smile on your face (the colours! the stories! the joy! the abundance!) whilst at the same time being gut-wrenchingly blown away by the scale of the pieces; not just because of the size and quality (for what is skill without the creator's heart) but more importantly the emotional and intellectual depth displayed in each and every piece; the beholder's eye can keep on travelling over the tapstries, sculptures, vases, etchings, drawings and never be able to take it all in as there are so many narratives, demonstrated in the intricate details and expressed in his own words in f.e. the documentary about the coming about of 'A House for Essex' in Wrabness Essex, Perry's home county.
He is a colourful character, to put it mildly, married & two children, of which there is no evidence as far as I could tell in the pieces; he's also a performer I would say, as he also likes to wear girlie clothes, outfits he designs himself or young art college students design for him; some of the creations so outrageously other the top Alice-in-Wonderland, even I as a yound girl would have been reluctant to wear them. However, he carries it off with such casualness it feels oddly ordinary.  

he cruised through Germany with his teddy bear Alan Measles on this motor bike, with matching attire




 I'm afraid I forgot to take pictures of all the titles and of the pieces in their entirety, such was the overwhelming experience. I did remember to take this picture of his own words right at the beginning of the exhibit: 





 below details from 'The Walthamstow Tapestry' 2009 wool, cotton, polyester, acrylic, silk







'Our Father'2007, cast iron, oil paint, string









'Map of Nowhere' 2008, etching from five plates; I love how doubt is at the very centre, as that is a feeling every artist, and I suppose every human being, feels every now and then!










book plus blurb



a bit of his art on our kitchen window sill




Comments

Liz A said…
Gritty stuff ... the modern madonna with cell phone was spot on, but my fav was the Two Towers cover. Love the view of your cloth out in the open air!
Nancy said…
Love the new banner ~ Such a grand photo of your beautiful cloth in the sunshine. So, wow, you're right...you could look for a few days and still not take it all in. What kind of mind thinks like this and then has the skill to execute his imaginings? Amazing and yes, with so much to say. Thank you for sharing.
Unknown said…
Wish I could have come with you! I love grayson. He was at Portsmouth art college just before my sister, and had textile lessons from my "auntie" Heather.
Mo Crow said…
there's a big Grayson Perry retrospective on here at the MCA in Sydney, I went along in December expecting to be underwhelmed by his flamboyant cult of the personality veneer but came away deeply confronted and moved by his exquisite attention to detail and craftsmanship combined with a well honed & formidable intellect. I have watched every video interview available on youtube (about 6 hours worth) well worth exploring further, must go back for another look!
Debbie said…
I have seen a couple of his exhibitions but none of the pieces you have shown. Although I don't go in for colour his work is amazing and his messages sometimes moving, sometimes funny.
I just wish he had his tapestries made in the UK instead of abroad.
Love your new header.
does he just design them? and they are made by others? Debbie?
Saskia said…
addendum:
what is most appealing, to me at least, is his humanity, his ability to connect with people, it's effect on me being more capable of accepting who I am; as far as I know he makes the vases, everything clay-related and the etchings himself, plus he does a lot (a lot) of drawing; he has designed the tapestries and the weaving is done by someone else.

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