Grayson Perry

The Beaney in Canterbury held the exhibition ‘The Vanity of Small Differences’, a fantastic exhibition of tapestry work by Grayson Perry. This series of works surrounded the lifetime of a tech genius from humble beginnings through the fictional transition into the upper classes. This exhibition had a real buzz surrounding it as Grayson Perry is a world renowned artist and to have such a landmark show in such a local space was extremely exciting.

On the day there was a lot of anticipation to see the work and we hurried through the usual exhibits the Beaney offer and headed straight to the special exhibition room at the back. Through the floor to ceiling double doors you enter a long thin room, and on this occasion, covered floor to ceiling in intricately designed and produced with outstanding quality, a set of tapestries telling Perry’s fictional story. From the first tapestry, it was clear to me that the attention to detail and production quality of these tapestries was astronomical. To see them in printed images or online was to not do them justice as the sensory barrage that they boast in the flesh. Each of the individual lines of the fabric delivered high quality colour and the texture of an extremely satisfying rug. I found myself wanting to reach out and run my hand along the surface, I remember almost thinking that I would have loved to have bought one and actually have used it as a rug, I think Perry would have laughed at this.

Over all the work was overwhelming and really lived up to the excitement going into the exhibition. Perry’s use of colour and the form of the object itself as it hang from the wall really helped carry home his usual witty portrayal of varying types of story. The accompanying explanation of how the work was produced, along with the sketches of the preliminary planning stages really gave the exhibition that finished complete quality that makes for a really outstanding experience. I left my initial viewing of the show knowing that this would not be the last time I would be looking at these works before the end of the allotted period it would be on display.

(all credit for the image in this blog post goes to its rightful owner)