GRAYSON PERRY: SMASH HITS

National Galleries of Scotland invites audiences to discover a contemporary cultural icon this summer, as it proudly unveils the largest ever exhibition dedicated to the work of Sir Grayson Perry, at the National (Royal Scottish Academy). Opening this Saturday and taking over the entire Upper Galleries of the Royal Scottish Academy, Grayson Perry: Smash Hits offers visitors a chance to embark on an exclusive retrospective journey through the celebrated artist’s remarkable 40-year career. National Galleries of Scotland hosts the one and only opportunity to see this exhibition, granting all who pass through the doors of the Royal Scottish Academy an audience with Perry’s lifetime of creation. This comprehensive exhibition, which encompasses more than eighty works, some of which displayed for the first time, has been developed in close collaboration with the artist and Victoria Miro gallery. Grayson Perry: Smash Hits has been kindly sponsored by the Jigsaw Foundation and Friends of National Galleries Scotland. 


Image: installation image of Grayson Perry: Smash Hits. © by Nick Mailer. Image above: Sir Grayson Perry by Nick Mailer Photography.

Sir Grayson Perry has gone from taking evening classes in pottery to winning the Turner Prize. He’s renowned for presenting television programmes on Channel 4, writing acclaimed books and commanding audiences far and wide during his live tours. An artist in every sense of the word, his accessible approach to art and engaging public persona has elevated Perry to the status of household name, and more recently, earned him a knighthood. 

Always keen to do the unexpected, pottery was Perry’s chosen method in which to indulge his fascination with sex, punk, and counterculture amongst other things, showcasing his interests in the most unlikely and polite of art forms. Today, he is one of Britain’s most celebrated artists and cultural figures. Grayson Perry: Smash Hits not only includes his most famous works, but also the first pieces he made as a student in Portsmouth. Works that would ignite a passion and pave the way for an illustrious career to be born. One such treasure on display is Perry’s earliest plate, made during his first week at evening class, Kinky Sex (1983).  


Image: Sacred Tribal Artefact by Grayson Perry.

Much like Perry, the exhibition doesn’t play by the rules, renouncing traditional chronological displays in favour of presenting his work as a journey; one which will lead audiences through the many themes embedded within his provocative art, including masculinity, sexuality, class, religion, politics and identity. Expect subversive pots, intricate prints, elaborate sculptures, and huge, captivating tapestries – each imbued with Perry’s sharp wit and social commentary.  

Grayson Perry: Smash Hits brings together almost all of the artist’s meticulously detailed prints and imaginary maps along with many of his tapestries, such as the rarely shown Walthamstow Tapestry (2009) which, at a striking 15-metres in length, presents a birth-to-death journey through shopping and brand names. There’s also an opportunity to encounter the intricate cast-iron ship, Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman (2011) which was the centrepiece of Perry’s 2011 exhibition of the same name at the British Museum. The tomb is a memorial to all the anonymous craftsmen of history. Two rooms centre on the monumental tapestry series: Vanity of Small Differences (2012), which focus on class and are loosely based on William Hogarth’s A Rake’s Progress, as well as A House for Essex tapestries (2015), which explore the life of a fictional Essex woman Julie Cope.  


Image: Grayson Perry Smash Hits. © Nick Mailer.

While the breadth of the exhibition offers a retrospective take on the artist’s career to date, it also looks to the future. A collection of new works, some completed within the last few months, will be displayed for the first time, including the richly detailed tapestry Sacred Tribal Artefact (2023), and a series of pots and plates, all of which explore themes of national identity. Perry’s latest pots, such as A Plague of Diaphobia (2022) and Ye Olde English Pot (2023), are presented in the form of medieval beer flagons. Decorated with traditional slipware techniques, they reference subjects ranging from the polarising effect of internet debate to heraldic iconography.  

Finally, fans of the recent Channel 4 docuseries Grayson Perry’s Full English will come face to face with notable objects featured on the popular series. Full English followed Perry as he travelled around the country to try and uncover what Englishness means today, inviting interviewees to select personal items which to them represented English identity. Piqued by the opportunity to show some of these items, alongside his new works which focus on Englishness in Scotland, Perry has included several objects in the exhibition. From a pub sign to a football flag, and a teacup to a letter from the Queen, they highlight not only the individuality and significance of cultural identity, but how artistic treasure can be found in many forms.

Read more on Grayson Perry in the Selvedge article:

Grayson Perry: The Heraldy of the Subconscious in Selvedge issue 0 and featured in Selvedge issue 13 and issue 86.

Grayson Perry: Smash Hits is on at National Galleries of Scotland until 12 November 2023.