Unpopular Culture Comes To Southbank Centre

The show includes works by; Kenneth Armitage; Frank Auerbach; Ian Berry; Anthony Caro; Lynn Chadwick; Barbara Hepworth; L.S. Lowry; Henry Moore, Paul Nash; Eduardo Paolozzi; Martin Parr; Tony Ray-Jones and Homer Sykes as well as two striking new works by Perry himself. It opens at De la Warr Pavilion, Bexhillon- Sea before embarking on a national tour.

Unpopular Culture examines a period in history which Perry argues was 'before British Art became fashionable.' The exhibition of more than 70 works by 50 artists encompasses a variety of media, figurative painting, bronze sculpture and documentary photography. Spanning the era from the 1940s to Thatcherite Britain of the 1980s, the selection epitomises a time when we as a nation had a different sense of self, one less defined by the modern-day interventions of television, mass media and digital communications.

Grayson Perry said: “The first time I trawled through the catalogues of the Collection I was drawn to these three distinct categories of art, which are bound together both by the period of their inception and their ineffable sense of mood; subtle, sensitive, lyrical and quiet in contrast to today when much art can seem like shouty advertisements for concepts or personalities. I also felt a need to confront the hackneyed version of the recent past that is the default mode of the nostalgia industry. Take the swinging sixties - this psychedelic, mini-driving, mini-skirt wearing, Beatles-loving supposed glory age which I suspect was really only enjoyed by a minority. This exhibition shows another side.”

Caroline Douglas, Head of Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre said; “We are delighted Grayson Perry agreed to select works from the Arts Council Collection to create this fascinating touring show. Unpopular Culture is the next chapter in a long history of working with artists in this capacity, whose unique vantage point as both practitioner and curator ensure critical and insightful selections. Grayson’s choices are not anchored to a period in art history, rather they span the time in which he and his parents grew up. The works on show reflect this personal narrative.”

For his selection, Perry gravitated towards those painters and photographers whose work was an honest reflection of British life and society. The lyricism and rigour of painters Paul Nash, Elinor Bellingham-Smith and Victor Pasmore are keenly juxtaposed with the frivolity and celebration of the beauty contests, seaside trips and Pearly Kings and Queens immortalised in the photographs of David Hurn, Tony Ray-Jones and Patrick Ward. Perry was drawn to the Collection’s holdings of bronze sculpture because of its archetypal nature, representing craftsmanship and the epitome of all that is thought of as art. The selection includes the cast bronzes of Henry Moore, Antony Caro and Kenneth Armitage, the polished abstraction of Barbara Hepworth and the linear, spiky forms of Lynn Chadwick, Eduardo Paolozzi, Elisabeth Frink and Meg Rutherford.

Unsurprisingly for an artist who has always positioned himself at the margins of the art world, Perry has found himself drawn to art that embodies a quiet nostalgia and restraint. Unpopular Culture presents an alternative view of British art, bringing a fresh, new perspective on this period. -- www.southbankcentre.co.uk