Wallace Collection hosts major exhibition featuring over 40 new works by Sir Grayson Perry (b. 1960). The new works, each made in direct response to the Collection, incorporate a range of mixed media and styles that Perry has honed over the course of his long and acclaimed career. Reflecting the breadth and variety of the Wallace Collection, the artist has drawn on the widest range of techniques, genres, and forms he has ever employed for a single exhibition.
Perry has a long-standing relationship with the treasures of Hertford House
Intrigued by the contrast between the extreme femininity of 1703th-century French Rococo and the overt masculinity of arms and armour, the artist recalls being struck by this dichotomy as a young artist when he saw the Collection’s famous portrait of Madame de Pompadour by François Boucher (1770-XNUMX). Rigid gender roles have been a recurring theme throughout Perry’s decades-long career, and this exhibition will reflect this as well. Delusions of Grandeur will question the very nature of craftsmanship and our drive for perfectionism. Intricately crafted objects will be displayed alongside works produced using digital technology, contrasting an object that may have taken thousands of hours to create with one that can be made with a simple click. Through these contrasting approaches, Perry will ask the viewer to consider questions of authenticity and the role of the artist in the future.
Delusions of Grandeur
In the context of this question, “Delusions of Grandeur” will also focus on the”outsider art“, including works by Aloïse Corbaz and Madge Gill. Following the discovery that Madge Gill (1882-1961) had exhibited at the Wallace Collection in 1942, the lives and works of these outsider artists helped reveal Perry’s personal response, which also drew on her childhood experiences. During the development of the exhibition, the fictional character of Shirley Smith was born, a woman who wakes up in Hertford House after a mental health crisis and believes herself the rightful heir to the treasures that surround her. Through portraits of ancestors and copies of old masters, this fictional life will touch on the real stories, influences and difficult experiences that art can bring to light. Opening on the artist’s 65th birthday, Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur offers an elaborate commentary on the very nature of making and collecting art. Addressing a range of themes, including the creation of domestic space and how it engenders a sense of security, the distinction between gender and decoration, and the perception of perfection versus authenticity, the exhibition will mark a momentous occasion for one of the country’s most respected artists.
Grayson Perry says"Creating exhibitions with museums has always been a source of joy for me, formalizing my lifelong interest in reinterpreting artifacts through my own perspective. Working with the Wallace Collection offered both excitement and a unique challenge: I was intrigued by the collection’s craftsmanship, but had to contend with an opulent aesthetic that I sometimes found cloying. Fortunately, I developed a strategy that helped me find a new perspective. I am very grateful to Xavier Bray for planting the seed of this exhibition in my mind, and to the staff and board members of the Wallace Collection for allowing me to play with their treasure trove.". Xavier Bray, Director of the Wallace Collection, says"Grayson Perry is an artist who interacts with the world like no other. His work resonates deeply with the viewer, questioning, provoking and reflecting contemporary society, from the sublime to the absurd. It has been a privilege to work with him on this exhibition. Our time together has given me a new perspective on the Collection and I look forward to sharing this vision with the public."
About the Wallace Collection
One of Britain’s leading cultural institutions, the Wallace Collection houses one of the world’s most significant collections of fine and decorative arts. Highlights include oil paintings from the 14th to the late 19th century by artists such as Titian, Velázquez, Rubens and Van Dyck; princely arms and armour; and one of the finest collections of 18th-century French paintings and decorative arts. Visitors can also see superb medieval and Renaissance objects, including enamels, faience, glass and Limoges bronzes. Housed in Hertford House, once home to Sir Richard and Lady Wallace, this extraordinary collection is displayed in a way that evokes their life and taste.
