Unpopular Culture
Unpopular Culture, exhibiting at the Mead Gallery at Warwick Arts Centre from 22 January to 13 March as part of a national tour, includes a selection of works made by Grayson Perry from the Arts Council Collection.
Grayson Perry was catapulted into the public consciousness in 2003 when he won the Turner Prize for his delicate coil pots adorned with drawings and text suggesting a range of subject matter. Perhaps less well-known is Perry’s work as a curator. Unpopular Culture highlights this aspect of Perry’s practice and offers his personal view of the Arts Council Collection: one of the foremost national collections of British post-war art, with over 7,500 works.
Unpopular Culture examines a period in history which Perry argues was ‘before British Art became fashionable.’ The exhibition of more than 70 works by 50 artists encompasses a variety of media, figurative painting, bronze sculpture and documentary photography. Spanning the era from the 1940s to Thatcherite Britain of the 1980s, the selection epitomises a time when we as a nation had a different sense of self, one less defined by interventions of television, mass media and digital communications.
The show includes works by; Kenneth Armitage; Frank Auerbach; Ian Berry; Anthony Caro; Lynn Chadwick; Barbara Hepworth; L.S. Lowry; Henry Moore, Paul Nash; Eduardo Paolozzi; John Piper; Tony Ray-Jones and Homer Sykes as well as two striking new works by Perry himself.
Unsurprisingly for an artist who has always positioned himself at the margins of the art world, Perry has found himself drawn to art that embodies a quiet nostalgia and restraint. Unpopular Culture presents an alternative view of British art, bringing a fresh, new perspective on this period.
For the exhibition, Grayson Perry has designed a limited edition silk scarf which will be available to buy from the Mead Gallery.
The exhibition is open Monday to Saturday from noon until 9pm and entrance is FREE of charge.
Exhibition Tours
Thursday 25 February - 6.30pm - 7.30pm
Join Ronnie Simpson for a tour of the show, and find out some of the thoughts and processes involved in making Unpopular Culture for Warwick Arts Centre.
Exhibition tours are FREE but tickets should be booked through Box Office on 024 7652 4524.
Gallery Assistant Tours
Join our Gallery Assistant for an informal and informative whistle stop tour of the exhibition. Available every Monday and Wednesday at 1pm and 4pm, 25 January - 10 March. The tours are free, and everyone is welcome. Booking required, phone the Mead Gallery Assistants on 024 7652 2589.
