insideKENT Magazine Issue 53 - August 2016 | Page 25
ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
Grayson Perry at THE BEANEY
Canterbury to play host to one of the UK’s most celebrated contemporary artists
The Vanity of Small Differences, a series of six large-scale tapestries by the
Turner-Prize winning artist Grayson Perry, will go on display in Canterbury this October.
(L-R): The Upper Class at Bay (detail), 2012; The Annunciation of the Virgin Deal (detail), 2012; The Agony in the Car Park (detail), 2012; The Adoration of the Cage Fighters (detail), 2012;
Expulsion from Number 8 Eden Close (detail), 2012
Created alongside the BAFTA award-winning Channel 4 series, All in the
Best Possible Taste, the series follows Perry as he embarks ‘on a safari
amongst the taste tribes of Britain’ to gain inspiration for his work. Perry
said: “Of all the pieces I have made this was the one I conceived from the
outset as a public artwork. I hope that wherever it goes it not only delights
the eyes but also sparks debate about class, taste and British Society”
The Beaney proudly hosts the first
regional exhibition of the tapestries
in the South East which will form
part of this year’s Canterbury
Festival.
Exhibition Kindly Sponsored by:
Inspired by the 18th-century painter William Hogarth’s moral tale, A Rake’s
Progress, Perry’s tapestries follow the rise and fall of a fictional character
called Tim Rakewell, as he develops from infancy through his teenage and
middle years, to his untimely death in a bloody car accident.
Grayson Perry:
The Vanity of Small Differences
Saturday 8th October to Sunday
4th December
Special Exhibitions Room,
The Beaney House of Art and
Knowledge
18 High Street, Canterbury
www.thebeaney.co.uk
A very British fascination with class and taste
Born in Chelmsford, Essex in 1960, Grayson Perry is a great chronicler of
contemporary life. His tapestries are rich in both content and colour and
depict many of the eccentricities and peculiarities associated with life in the
UK, picking up the threads of regional differences from interior design to
cuisine, political protest and celebrity gossip.
The tapestries will be displayed at The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge
on Canterbury High Street, and will be accompanied by a special programme
of associated events and activities for all ages (see www.thebeaney.co.uk
for more details).
This exhibition has been supported with loans from the Arts Council Collection.
Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre London and British Council. Gift of the artist and Victoria Miro Gallery with the support of Channel 4 Television, The Art Fund and Sfumato Foundation with additional
support from AlixPartners © Grayson Perry. Photography © Stephen White.
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