My Heroes

English Contemporary artist Grayson Perry once described his vibrant ceramic vessels and printed tapestries as completed with a “guerrilla tactic”: the viewer is at first drawn to the artwork's decorative beauty, then confronted with the incongruously dark subject matter. A plethora of influences, from Greek pottery to folk art, inform Perry's intricately animated explorations of identity, gender, social status, sexuality and religion. Largely autobiographical, Perry’s work prominently features his female alter-ego, Claire. An evolving and multifaceted identity, Claire is both a revelation of the artist’s inner world – he began cross-dressing at a young age – and an integral part of Perry’s public persona. Rising to international fame after winning the coveted Turner Prize in 2003, Perry is also a prolific curator, writer and television presenter.

Chelmsford, UK