'This Is the Post-Lockdown Party We All Need' – Grayson's Art Club Review
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The Guardian ‘This is the post-lockdown party we all need’ – Grayson’s Art Club review Hannah Clugston 19 May 2021 ‘This is the post-lockdown party we all need’ – Grayson’s Art Club review Grayson Perry challenged ‘any oik, prole or citizen’ to unleash their lockdown creativity. The best of the 10,000 entries, from polished pros to frontline workers, are full of fun, resilience – and cats Image: A reaction to endless hours indoors works in the Manchester show. Photograph: Michael Pollard To give Grayson’s Art Club less than five stars would be to take the artistic aspirations of the UK, screw them up and stomp on them. This exhibition – which unites the lockdown creativity of the public with acclaimed artists and skilful celebrities – already endured one setback, when it was cancelled on the eve of opening due to additional Covid restrictions being imposed. Seven months later, it doesn’t need a grumpy art critic, cynically sniffing around. Wonderfully, there’s no room for cynicism in this celebratory show that is the post-lockdown party we all need. In his book Playing to the Gallery, Grayson Perry writes: “I firmly believe that anyone is eligible to enjoy art or become an artist – any oik, any prole, any citizen that has a vision that they want to share.” When coronavirus hit the UK, Perry decided to challenge the “oiks” to live up to his vision by inviting the public to contribute to his weekly art club, which aired every Friday on Channel 4. It was a hit, and the show received nearly 10,000 entries and spawned a second series. The works that most struck a chord with Perry and his special guests are now on display at Manchester Art Gallery, an institution that was founded on similar principles to Perry’s club: to enable the city’s inhabitants to grow in creativity, imagination, health and productivity. Image: A gut reaction to endless hours indoors The Itty Bitty Chris Whitty Committee, 2020, by Joe Lycett Photograph: © the artist Each episode followed a different theme – portraits, animals, fantasy, view from my window, home and Britain – and the exhibition is arranged accordingly, placing novices next to the likes of Jeremy Deller, David Shrigley and Sir Antony Gormley. But when it came to artistic inspiration everyone it seems was tapping into similar experiences. Martin Parr was shooting photographs of people queueing, while Jacqueline Taylor was painting her neighbours lining the streets clapping; Maggi Hambling was detailing the resilience of magnolias, while Julia Gardner was observing the crab apple tree in her garden. It is interesting to get a glimpse at Parr or Perry’s reactions to the pandemic, but it is the “outsider artist” work that really captivates. The professional artists are just that – very polished and considered. Whereas Clare, Anita, Seamus and the 50 plus other non-professional artists were creating a gut reaction to endless hours indoors. It is relatable and strangely nostalgic. Memories of the simplicity of the first lockdown flood back as I peer into Vinny Montag and Kimvi Nguyen’s curtain-adorned fridge, remembering the delicious meals that were the highlight of the day. Clare Wilks’s tropical garden scene encapsulates those early, hazy afternoons outdoors, while collages by Anthony King, Simran and Mandish Khebbal and Sue Dibben capture the joyous chaos of families forced to commune all day, every day. 25—28 Old Burlington Street London W1S 3AN T +44 (0)20 7494 1434 stephenfriedman.com The Guardian ‘This is the post-lockdown party we all need’ – Grayson’s Art Club review Hannah Clugston 19 May 2021 The struggles are here too. We see pensive, anxious eyes in the portraits of Lucilda Goulden-White, Henry Mawcat and Ania Newland. Lana Turner’s figures with blurred-out faces and stern, pointing fingers depict the increased judgment and antagonism strangers felt towards one another. Death is never far away; creeping in between the masked, socially distanced figures in Hannah Grace Deller’s photographs, shrivelling under Sue and Adrian Dent’s radiotherapy mask and rising up as a dragon in the Singh Twins’ lightbox. Image: Spiritual guides in the public’s creative enlightenment … The Singh Twins with Grayson and Philippa Perry. Photograph: Andrew Brooks Grayson and Philippa Perry are the spiritual guides in the public’s creative enlightenment, taking the lead by producing their own works in response to every topic. Philippa is a skilled ceramicist, imbuing her creations with a playfulness and whimsy – transforming her family into cats or sculpting a homage to A Place in the Sun. Grayson’s pieces punctuate the show with his signature incisive observation and humour. Protective Spirit Alan is the most arresting. Built with ceramic, metal, stones and found objects, the sculpture is a heftier recreation of Perry’s teddy bear and his “personal deity”. With a set of razor-sharp teeth, bottle-cap eyes and spiky debris crown, Alan casts an intimidating shadow. He is a relic from the past and an apocalyptic creature from the future; his timelessness is a monument to endurance and resilience. The same could be said of this entire exhibition. Behind the loud colours, exquisite detail and thoughtful craftsmanship, there are stories of survival. We learn of Georgia Rusch’s fight for British citizenship, Emma Major’s readjustment to blindness and Jenny Brennan’s search for home. In addition to the personal tales, there is the grand narrative that art – creating, making, building – enables us to go on. The finest example of this is Alex Robinson’s marvellous cast of Fimo figurines. Robinson is on the autistic spectrum, and during lockdown the weekly creation of four figures offered him relaxation and regular routine. For every person that made art in this exhibition – whether professional, famous or working on the frontline – making art was the life source to get from one day to the next. Gavin Williamson, take note. 25—28 Old Burlington Street London W1S 3AN T +44 (0)20 7494 1434 stephenfriedman.com .