Meet the artist: Grayson Perry
8 December 2025
Artist Grayson Perry doesn't need too much of an introduction. This award-winning well-known artist has frequently graced the UK's galleries, television screens and stages in recent years - and we're currently displaying six of his tapestries at The Box (until 11 January). The tapestries are packed with cultural references and form part of the 'Remember Respond Resist' exhibition. Here are ten top facts about their creator.
1
Perry was born in Chelmsford, Essex in 1960 and lives in London.
2
He undertook a BA (Hons) in Fine Art at Portsmouth College of Art and Design and graduated in 1982.
3
He won the prestigious Turner Prize in 2003 in recognition of his first solo exhibition, Guerilla Tactics which was displayed at the Stedelijik Museum, Amsterdam in 2002.
4
In 2013, he released a series of talks called 'Playing to the Gallery' as part of the BBC's Reith Lectures. These evolved into a book called 'Playing to the Gallery: Helping Contemporary Art in its Struggle to Be Understood' in 2014.
5
Perry is well-known for his ceramics and tapestries as well as his use of other arts and crafts disciplines including embroidery, printmaking, drawing and film. His approach to ceramics is based on Greek pottery and folk art.
6
He is also known for being a 'great chronicler of contemporary life'. His work explores universally human subjects such as identity, gender, social status, sexuality and religion, and mixes autobiographical references with questions and comments about wider society.
7
In the process of producing his tapestries, Perry's develops his initial sketches using Adobe Photoshop, before weaving them into life using a computer-controlled loom.
8
In 2020, Perry was the recipient of the Erasmus Prize - one of Europe's most distinguished annual awards which is given to a person or institution that has made an exceptional contribution to the humanities, social sciences or the arts.
9
'Grayson's Art Club' was hosted during the COVID-19 pandemic from his home studio alongside his wife Philipa, motivating viewers to create their own artworks during the lockdowns. The programme was then commissioned for a second series which ran from February 2021.
10
In 2025, Perry was involved in 'The Masked Singer' as Kingfisher and was eliminated in the sixth episode. He has also recently finished touring the UK with 'Are You Good', which visited South West venues in Truro and Exeter in October.
Perry's The Vanity of Small Differences - a collection of six vibrant tapestries that explore British fascination with taste and class - can be seen in the Remember Respond Resist exhibition until the end of Sunday 11 January.
Thanks to Victoria Miro.
Image
Grayson Perry as Claire introducing The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever!'at Arnolfini, Bristol, 5 October 2017. Image by Arnolfini.