The National Gallery of Arts and British Council have proudly announced the exhibition ‘The Vanity of Small Differences’ that will take place from 2nd of November until the 5th of December. Turner Prize winner, Grayson Perry, tells a story about British perception of taste and class by following life and death of the fictional character Tim Rakewell. Tim’s journey through social classes is depicted through six monumental tapestries that are rich in details, color and characters.
Tirana is the last city in Western Balkans cities to welcome the exhibition. The exhibition was hosted previously in Novi Sad, Prishtina, Sarajevo, and in Banja Luka.
One of the most high-profile contemporary British artists, Perry uses traditional media such as tapestry, ceramic, and print-making to explore his fascination with contemporary social issues and the often provocative topics of religion, sex, gender, politics, class and identity. The artist himself is also very provocative due to his unconventional gender identity and his female alter ego, Claire.
‘The Vanity of Small Differences’ consists of six large format tapestries, eight prints of the William Hogarth’s work, 20 facsimile and three documentaries created during Perry’s trips to three regions in England where he was preparing the project. ‘The Vanity of Small Differences’ is jointly owned by The British Council Collection, the Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, in London.
About the artist
Grayson Perry is an English artist, known mainly for his ceramic vases and cross-dressing. Perry’s vases have classical forms and are decorated in bright colors, depicting subjects at odds with their attractive appearance. There is a strong autobiographical element in his work, in which images of Perry as “Claire” , his female alter-ego, often appear. In 2008 Perry was ranked number 32 in The Telegraph’s list of the “100 most powerful people in British culture” and in 2012, Perry was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork – the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover – to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life.
