Grayson's Art Club

Last updated

Grayson's Art Club is a Channel 4 television documentary series hosted by artist Grayson Perry and his wife, psychotherapist Philippa Perry and first broadcast during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. [1] The first series was broadcast between 27 April and 1 June 2020. It was filmed during the first national lockdown period in the UK in spring 2020. A second series commenced on 26 February 2021, filmed and broadcast during England's third national lockdown. [2] Season 3 began on 18 March 2022, this time without COVID-19 restrictions, and lasted a further 6 episodes. [3]

Contents

Format

I believe that art can help get us through this crisis. It can help us explore our creativity, inspire and console us, and tell us some truths about who we really are. Each week, I'll be joined by celebrity guests who share a passion for art. They'll each make an artwork, and I'll make a few of my own. Most important of all, I want you, the great British public, to get involved, and send me your art on a theme I've chosen for the week. I'll pick some of the works that you send me to create an exhibition in the real world, once this crisis is over. Our Art Club exhibition will be a lasting artistic record of how we've all felt about these strange times we've been through together.
— Spoken by Grayson Perry at the start of each Grayson's Art Club programme.

In the context of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdown measures, Perry asked viewers to submit artworks on a given theme each week. Perry selected several pieces each week to be part of an exhibition to be held after the lockdown ended, and spoke via video link to the creators. Both Perry and his wife were also filmed using mainly static cameras placed around the studio making artworks for the exhibition. In addition, Perry conducted remote interviews with artists including Maggi Hambling, Antony Gormley, and The Singh Twins, and with celebrities with artistic hobbies, including Noel Fielding, Jessica Hynes, and Jim Moir.

Pieces from the celebrities and professional artists were also to be included in the exhibition, which was to be held at Manchester Art Gallery from 25 November 2020 – 18 April 2021. [4] A further exhibition was held at Midlands Art Centre, Birmingham in 2023.

By 22 May 2020, part-way through the series, the programme had already received over 10,000 artwork submissions. [5] The first series had over a million viewers a week. [2]

The music for the series was by Alexander Parsons and is available to buy in digital formats only. [6]

Writing about the first series in The Guardian, Claire Armitstead noted "Grayson's Art Club was conceived as a quickfire reaction to the pandemic, with Grayson repeatedly emphasising the creative potential of boredom and confinement. Perry said of the art 'We're saying the finished thing doesn't have to be good, but the process has to be genuine. And it has to be heartfelt and enjoyable. We're not saying make art like a professional, we're saying get stuck in and lose yourself a while in it ... I am trying to democratise art, but I'm not saying it means a drop in quality. It just means upping the accessibility and entertainment. Entertainment and humour are often denigrated, but they take just as much skill as the so-called intellectual level of high culture'." [2]

Series and episodes

Series 1

Series 1 comprised six one-hour weekly episodes: [7] [8]

  1. Portraits, featuring artist Chantal Joffe, who painted a self portrait in her studio; comedian (and guest judge) Joe Lycett, who painted a portrait of England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty (with the caption 'Wash your filthy pig hands'); and presenter Keith Lemon, who made a iPad portrait of Pharrell Williams. Perry worked on a portrait of his wife Philippa which he then painted on to a large ceramic plate, and started work on a large ceramic 'protective figure' of his totem, Alan Measles, work on which went on through all six episodes. The public's artworks included a ceramic bust of Chris Whitty and a painting of a drag queen, Aquaria by Miranda Noszkiewicz. First broadcast Monday 27 April 2020.
  2. Animals, featuring artist Dame Maggi Hambling, who painted a magnolia surrounded by the virus, titled 'April 2020', in her studio; comedian and television presenter (and guest judge) Harry Hill, who carved a wooden dog called Soloman; and actor and comedian Noel Fielding, who made a pastel crayon drawing of 'Acid Mouse and a sexy cooking apple'. Perry made a ceramic 'plague cat covered in decorative boils and pustules' based on an Islamic incense burner, and continued work on his protective figure of Alan Measles. Philippa made a ceramic cat based on the work of Aldo Londi for Bitossi. Both the Perrys' works were inspired by their cat, Kevin, who was in the studio as they worked. The public's artworks included an embroidery of penguins at an aquarium, some wire garden birds, and a photograph by frontline nurse Hannah Grace Deller of a dog show. First broadcast Monday 4 May 2020.
  3. Fantasy, featuring sculptor Sir Antony Gormley, who made a dot painting with crude oil in his studio; a visit to the studio of artist Raqib Shaw; actor (and guest judge) Jessica Hynes, who made a decorated lampshade; and actor and comedian Noel Fielding (again), who this time made a cardboard fantasy cocktail party, with guests including The Beatles, Grace Jones, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Perry worked on an albarello, decorated with 'fears and imaginings about the situation we're in', including Alan Measles, Perry's alter ego Claire, and Chris Whitty, and Philippa made a ceramic bowl based on the television series A Place in the Sun . The public's artworks included a painted pregnant belly and modelled cartoon figurines. First broadcast Monday 11 May 2020.
  4. View from your window, featuring artist Jeremy Deller, who made a 'Thank God For Immigrants' poster; comedian (and guest judge) Jim Moir, who painted UK birds, including a bearded tit, using oil sticks; and comedian Lolly Adefope, who painted an abstract view 'then no-one can say it's wrong or bad'. Perry worked on a slab-built plant holder based on his house, with a miniature poster of Chris Whitty on the side, and Philippa made a bowl with a view from the studio, including all the tv recording wires and equipment, and a cameraman outside the window. The public's artworks included a window into a fridge, a drawing by a blind artist, and a painting of council refuse bins, one with the slogan 'Nuts about life' written on the side. First broadcast Monday 18 May 2020.
  5. Home, featuring artist David Shrigley, who drew a comic drawing 'I'm so lucky'; comedian (and guest judge) Jenny Eclair, who drew an oil pastel and wax crayon drawing of her living room sofa; actor and comedian Noel Fielding (his third appearance), who built a comedy club in his garden shed with a painted audience (with a MC appearance by Rich Fulcher); and television presenter Kevin McCloud, who built a model dream home. Perry worked on a Covid-inspired tea towel he designed on his computer (featuring Chris Whitty), and Philippa made a bowl based on their daughter Flo's flatshare. The public's artworks included a drawing of a caravan, an installation of 'Barbie in lockdown', and a photo collage of a family in their living room, the parents in Gucci and the three brothers present. First broadcast Monday 25 May 2020.
  6. Britain, featuring artists The Singh Twins, who made a digital artwork based on St George and the dragon that paid tribute to the NHS; photographer Martin Parr, who photographed socially-distanced queues; and actor and presenter Liza Tarbuck, who made a cloth UK suspended in a mosaic-decorated box. NHS nurse Hannah Grace Deller, whose Marin Parresque photo of a dog show had been featured in the second episode, was commissioned by the programme to take photos at her workplace, St Mary's Hospital in London. [9] Alex Robinson, whose cartoon figurines were featured in the third episode, made an Alan Measles and a Kevin the cat for the Perrys. Perry finished his 'protective spirit' Alan Measles, and made a flagon decorated with scenes of Britain under COVID-19, including the Queen and Chris Whitty, while Philippa made a set of flowerpots decorated with quotes from the first five episodes of the series. The public's artworks included a street scene of people clapping for the NHS, and a decorated cast of a radiotherapy mask. The series ended with a virtual drinks party for the celebrity artists, who talked about what making the art had meant for them. First broadcast Monday 1 June 2020.
Well, here we are at the end of Art Club. And what have I learned? We've painted a strange panel-picture of Britain, now. And I've, I am actually feeling quite hopeful. You know, because I think that I've seen a generous side of Britain, I've seen a tolerant side of Britain, I've seen a vulnerable side of Britain. These are all good qualities. They're great qualities for making art, and they're great qualities for being citizens of the future.
— Spoken by Grayson Perry at the end of the final Grayson's Art Club programme.

These six episodes were followed on 4 December 2020 by a one-hour follow-up episode, Grayson's Art Club: The Exhibition, featuring the post-lockdown preparations for the exhibition of the selected Art Club works at Manchester Art Gallery. [4] The preparations were interrupted by the imposing of the second lockdown on 5 November 2020, which was lifted on 2 December. The date of the exhibition has not yet been settled due to the ongoing nature of the pandemic.

On 4 December 2020 Perry tweeted that "Art Club will be back in the New Year". [10]

Series 2

On 4 January 2021 England entered its third lockdown period. A preliminary hour-long programme, Grayson's Art Club: Get Creating was broadcast on Sunday 31 January 2021, recapping what had happened in the previous series and giving the six themes for the second series, for which artwork was requested from the public:

  1. Family featuring Yinka Ilori and Boy George
  2. Nature featuring Andy Goldsworthy, Holly Walsh and Banksy
  3. Food featuring Rose Wylie, Lucy Sparrow, Sue Perkins and Nigella Lawson
  4. Dreams featuring Johnny Vegas and Frank Bowling.
  5. Work featuring Jane Seymour and Ryan Gander
  6. Travel featuring Derren Brown and Alex Horne [11]

The artworks selected throughout the series were presented at the exhibition at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery from 4 December 2021 to 4 September 2022. A follow-up episode Grayson's Art Club: An Exhibition for Britain was broadcast on Friday 10 December 2021.

Artworks can only be submitted via the Grayson's Art Club website. [11] [12]

Series 3

Series 3 began on Friday 18 March 2022 and due to the ending of Covid-19 restrictions, guests were permitted to enter Perry's studio. The 6 themes were announced in January earlier that year, once again inviting the public to send in their artwork for an exhibition. [13] The show introduced a new segment where Philippa Perry met with an artist or artistic project of her choice per episode.

  1. Love featuring Bill Bailey and Ai Weiwei
  2. Heroes & Heroines featuring Jo Brand and Frank Quitely
  3. Normal Life featuring Joe Wilkinson and Cornelia Parker
  4. Inside My Head featuring Mawaan Rizwan and Heather Phillipson
  5. Holidays featuring Katy Wix and Denzil Forrester
  6. The Future featuring Joe Lycett and Conrad Shawcross

The artworks selected throughout the series were presented at the exhibition at the MAC, Birmingham from 2 December 2022 to 25 June 2023. A follow-up episode Grayson's Art Club: The Exhibition was broadcast on Friday 2 December 2022.

Specials

To celebrate Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, the first special episode was broadcast on Wednesday 25 May 2022. [14] The topic and episode title was "Queen's Jubilee Special" with guests Prue Leith, Harry Hill, and Hew Locke.

Reception and accolades

Writing about the first series, Alex Marshall of the New York Times said that the programme produced 'a charming and occasionally bizarre portrait of Britain's preoccupations during the crisis.' [5] Hettie Judah wrote in inews that 'I had hoped to be entertained by this show: I had not expected to be so moved.' [1]

The first series of the show was nominated for several awards: [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Blake (artist)</span> English artist (born 1932)

Sir Peter Thomas Blake is an English pop artist. He co-created the sleeve design for the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. His other works include the covers for two of The Who's albums, the cover of the Band Aid single "Do They Know It's Christmas?", and the Live Aid concert poster. Blake also designed the 2012 Brit Award statuette.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grayson Perry</span> English artist, writer and broadcaster (born 1960)

Sir Grayson Perry is an English contemporary artist, writer and broadcaster. He is known for his ceramic vases, tapestries, and cross-dressing, as well as his observations of the contemporary arts scene, and for dissecting British "prejudices, fashions and foibles".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarab Club</span> United States historic place

The Scarab Club is an artists' club, gallery, and studio in the Cultural Center Historic District of Detroit, Michigan, located at 217 Farnsworth Street, near the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Detroit Science Center. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Watson</span> British comedian and writer

Mark Andrew Watson is an English comedian and novelist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Furr</span> English painter

Christian Furr is an English painter. In 1995 he was commissioned to paint Queen Elizabeth II.

<i>The Graham Norton Show</i> British comedy chat show, broadcast on BBC One

The Graham Norton Show is a British comedy talk show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton succeeding Friday Night with Jonathan Ross in BBC One's prestigious late-Friday-evening slot in 2010.

The Overbeck sisters were American women potters and artists of the Arts and Crafts Movement who established Overbeck Pottery in their Cambridge City, Indiana, home in 1911 with the goal of producing original, high-quality, hand-wrought ceramics as their primary source of income. The sisters are best known for their fanciful figurines, their skill in matte glazes, and their stylized designs of plants and animals in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. The women owned and handled all aspects of their artistic enterprise until 1955, when the last of the sisters died and the pottery closed. As a result of their efforts, the Overbecks managed to become economically independent and earned a modest living from the sales of their art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sterling Ruby</span> American artist

Sterling Ruby is an American artist who works in a large variety of media including ceramics, painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, video, and textiles. Often, his work is presented in large and densely packed installations. The artist has cited a diverse range of sources and influences including aberrant psychologies, urban gangs and graffiti, hip-hop culture, craft, punk, masculinity, violence, public art, prisons, globalization, American domination and decline, waste and consumption. In opposition to the minimalist artistic tradition and influenced by the ubiquity of urban graffiti, the artist's works often appear scratched, defaced, camouflaged, dirty, or splattered. Proclaimed as one of the most interesting artists to emerge this century by New York Times art critic Roberta Smith, Ruby's work examines the psychological space where individual expression confronts social constraint. Sterling Ruby currently lives and works in Los Angeles. His studio is located in Vernon, south of downtown Los Angeles.

Leeds 13 was an English artist collective. The group formed in 1997–1998 at the University of Leeds, West Yorkshire. All thirteen third-year students taking the four-year BA were members: nine women and four men. Their degree had two parts, marked with equal weight: art history and theory, and studio practice. In studio practice, each student was expected to produce original artwork for an end-of-year exhibition. Members of Leeds 13 rejected this convention. Instead, they cooperated on two conceptual works and unusual exhibitions. These proved controversial but received top grades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathan Wyburn</span> Welsh artist and media personality

Nathan Wyburn is a Welsh variety act artist and media personality who has created celebrity portraits (iconography) and pop culture imagery using non-traditional media such as foodstuffs and other household items, most notably working with Marmite on toast. He has personally created works of art for Tom Holland, Prince William & Kate Middleton, Charles III, Mariah Carey, Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Tom Jones, Debbie Harry, Sting, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Idris Elba, and The Jacksons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse Edwards (artist)</span> American artist

Jesse Edwards is an American artist. Known primarily for his figurative and still life oil paintings, using techniques from the European Old Masters, that often provide satirical cultural commentary. His practice also includes painted ceramic sculptures. Edwards studied oil painting at the Gage Academy of Art (2002), and has been exhibiting publicly since. He has been into graffiti twice as long as oil painting or ceramics. After moving from Seattle to New York Edwards acquired representation by Vito Schnabel Edwards work was later chosen by the curators Theo Niarchos and David Rimanelli to be included in group exhibitions alongside works by Harmony Korine, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Julian Schnabel, Dan Colen, Dash Snow, and Pablo Picasso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Museum of Ceramic Art</span> Art Museum in Pomona, California

The American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) is an art museum for ceramic art, located in Pomona, California. Founded in 2003 as a nonprofit organization, the museum exhibits historic and contemporary ceramic artwork from both its permanent collection of 10,000 objects and through temporary rotating exhibitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quilla Constance</span> British painter

Jennifer Allen, known professionally as Quilla Constance, is a British contemporary interdisciplinary artist and lecturer, born in Birmingham, 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Swanzy</span> Irish painter

Mary Swanzy HRHA was an Irish landscape and genre artist. Noted for her eclectic style, she painted in many styles including cubism, futurism, fauvism, and orphism, she was one of Ireland's first abstract painters.

George Lambourn was a British artist, who although born in London, lived in Cornwall for most of his life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Reitz</span> American ceramic artist (1929–2014)

Donald Lester Reitz was an American ceramic artist, recognized for inspiring a reemergence of salt glaze pottery in United States. He was a teacher of ceramic art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1962 until 1988. During this period, he adapted the pottery firing technique developed in the Middle Ages, which involved pouring salt into the pottery kiln during the firing stage. The method was taught in European ceramic art schools, but largely unknown in United States studio pottery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke McGarry</span> British illustrator

Luke Edward McGarry is a British illustrator, cartoonist, animator and designer based in Los Angeles.

The Singh Twins are British artists who work together on their artworks. Their work draws on both traditional Indian tradition, Western medieval illuminated manuscripts and contemporary Western culture, often 'pop culture'. Their work has been shown in galleries and museums such as the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Claudia Clare is a British ceramicist and writer known for her large painted earthenware jars depicting the impact of big events in the lives of ordinary women.

Noah Jones, nicknamed Background Bob, was a British teenage artist from Dedham, Essex, whose art projects raised over £250,000 for the hospital trust that treated him for hydrocephalus, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy. Along with his father, his collaborators included Ed Sheeran and Grayson Perry.

References

  1. 1 2 Hettie Judah (27 April 2020). "I had not expected to be so moved by Grayson's Art Club". inews.co.uk.
  2. 1 2 3 Claire Armitstead (14 February 2021). "Grayson and Philippa Perry: 'Fantasy isn't all unicorns and rainbows – it's a refuge'". theguardian.com.
  3. ↑ "TV tonight: a globe-trotting, gritty and sexy German thriller". the Guardian. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Grayson's Art Club". manchesterartgallery.org. Manchester Art Gallery. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  5. 1 2 Alex Marshall (22 May 2020). "Creating an Exhibition of Britain's Lockdown Dreams". The New York Times . Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  6. ↑ "Grayson's Art Club (Original Television Soundtrack), by Alexander Parsons". Alexander Parsons.
  7. ↑ "Grayson's Art Club (TV Series 2020– ) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
  8. ↑ "Grayson's Art Club". Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020– via www.channel4.com.
  9. ↑ Tilden, Imogen (4 November 2020). "A frontline worker trapped in a hospital: Hannah Grace Deller's best photograph". The Guardian.
  10. ↑ Grayson Perry [@Alan_Measles] (4 December 2020). "Thanks so much for all the lovely comments. Let's hope the show can open soon. Art Club will be back in the new year ❤️" (Tweet). Retrieved 31 December 2020– via Twitter.
  11. 1 2 "Submit Your Art". www.graysonsartclub.com.
  12. ↑ "Grayson's Art Club 2 | Swan Films".
  13. ↑ "Grab your brushes, Grayson's Art Club returns (again) with new submission themes". www.itsnicethat.com. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  14. ↑ "TV tonight: Prue Leith joins Grayson Perry's platinum jubilee art club". the Guardian. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  15. ↑ "Grayson's Art Club". www.swanfilms.tv. Swan Films. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  16. ↑ "Edinburgh TV Awards 2020". 18 November 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.