Grayson Perry: The Pre-Therapy Years
Tickets: £12.00 or FREE for Members and UEA/NUA Student Members
Concessions available
50% off for under 18's, full-time students & Art Fund Members
Tickets must be pre-booked before arrival. Your time slot indicates the time you need to arrive at the Centre
To ensure visitor safety, you are required to wear a face covering
Due to restricted numbers in the gallery, we are not able to accommodate group visits at this time
Due to the current lockdown, exhibition dates are to be confirmed. Keep an eye on our website and social media for further updates.
There is restricted access to wheelchair users on the Mezzanine Gallery*
Grayson Perry’s groundbreaking ‘lost’ pots will be reunited for the first time to focus on the formative years of one of Britain’s most recognisable artists.
Grayson Perry: The Pre-Therapy Years is the first exhibition to survey Perry’s earliest forays into the art world, reintroducing the explosive and creative works he made between 1982 and 1994. The works shown explore the themes of fetishism, gender, class, his home county of Essex, and the vagaries of the art world – all of which are integral to Perry’s practice today.
The exhibition begins in 1982 when Perry was first working as an artist, including works such as his first plate Kinky Sex (1983). It then charts his progress to the mid-90s when he became established in the mainstream London art scene. The exhibition captures Perry’s move into using ceramics as his primary medium and the emergence of his own identity as ‘the Transvestite potter’.
Today, Perry and his instantly-recognisable alter-ego, Claire, enjoys a reputation bordering on National Treasure status by virtue of his distinctive tapestry, collage and ceramic works that often explore themes of gender, identity and social class, as well as his remarkable work as a witty social commentator on TV and in print.
This exhibition contains sexually explicit content and provocative symbolism that some visitors may find challenging. Please email scva@uea.ac.uk for more information.
Exhibition organised by the Holburne Museum, Bath
*Please note: The Sainsbury Centre is accessible to disabled visitors including those with limited mobility and those accompanying them, with the exception of the Mezzanine Gallery where this exhibition is displayed.
The Sainsbury Centre is a Grade II* Listed building. Due to Fire Safety regulations, we regret we are unable to allow visitors access to the Mezzanine Gallery who are unable to independently navigate the steep spiral staircase in the event of an evacuation. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Image Credit: Grayson Perry, Cocktail Party, 1989 Collection of the artist © Grayson Perry. Images courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro.
Quote taken from interview with Grayson Perry.
“This show has been such a joy to put together and to see these early works again, many of which I have not seen since the 80s.”