Grayson Perry

Grayson Perry was born in Chelmsford in 1960. He studied the Art Foundation course at Braintree College.

His numerous solo exhibitions since the early 1980s include James Birch Gallery, London (1984), Birch & Conran Gallery, London (1987), Fig 1, London (2000) and the recent major solo presentation of his work, Guerrilla Tactics, at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam and the Barbican Art Gallery, London (2002).

In the early 1980s Grayson Perry was a member of the Neo-Naturist group, participating in performance and film works. He has continued to make work in a variety of media which now include embroidery and photography. Yet Perry is best known for his ceramic works, creating classically shaped vases decorated with figures, objects and text, which stand within a tradition stretching back for centuries. The revealing and often dark subject matter depicted on these pots is at first disguised by their colourful, decorative nature.

His chosen topics include autobiographical images of himself, his transvestite alter ego Claire, and his family, as well as references to political events and an investigation of observed cultural stereotypes.