Following the encouragement of his art teacher, Perry decided to study art eventually gaining a degree in fine art at Portsmouth College of Art and Design, graduating in 1982. He became known for his ceramic vases, tapestries, printmaking and cross-dressing, as well as his observations of the contemporary arts scene, and for commentating on British “prejudices, fashions and foibles”. There is a strong autobiographical element in his work, in which images of Perry as Claire, his female alter-ego, and Alan Measles, his childhood teddy bear, often appear. His work refers to several ceramic traditions including Greek pottery and folk art. He is known for chronicling his social concerns, combining various techniques as a ‘guerrilla tactic” often with sexually explicit content using the approachable medium of pottery and textiles to provoke thought.
He has made a number of documentary television programmes starting in 2005 where he presented a Channel 4 documentary, Why Men Wear Frocks. In it he examined transvestism and masculinity at the start of the 21st century. Perry talked about his own life as a transvestite and the effect it had on him and his family, frankly discussing its difficulties and pleasures. In 2012 he made the series All In The Best Possible Taste With Grayson Perry, which analysed the ideas of taste held by different social classes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he presented Grayson’s Art Club from his home studio alongside his wife Philippa, encouraging viewers to produce and share their own artworks from lockdown. The programme’s second series began in February 2021. Aside from recent television work, he has had solo exhibitions at the Barbican Centre, the British Museum, the Serpentine Gallery and The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh among others.
Perry was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2013 and awarded a Knighthood in the 2023 King’s New Year Honours.
Buy his work from mainstream galleries here and watch this video about the creation of Map Of Days.
