A biography for Grayson Perryhasn’t been written yet.
“I operate on anger quite a lot. Its what gets me up in the morning to make art quite often. Well, irritation at least.”
“I love learning. I always learn on the job.”
“In the art world, originality is seen as a precious commodity and its increasingly difficult to get because the territory of art is so trampled.”
“I cant make art to please everybody all the time. I make art that I like.”
“Of course I can change a plug. But my father would not only know how to change a plug, he could have rewired the house, built the back wall. Its a generational thing.”
“Fashion is a way to orchestrate the spectacle of ideas. You can get someone who is fashionable but not terribly stylish, and the other way round.”
“My mother is a strong person. She's funny but volatile, with a pretty bad temper.”
“Ive never actually sold a Post-it note, but I think I might.”
“Fashion is a language, and therefore says something about politics, and certain fashion styles get associated with certain political standpoints.”
“If Id had a happy childhood I definitely wouldnt have become the person I am - although a bad childhood isnt a recipe for being a creative person. There are many people in the arts who come from perfectly happy, middle-class homes.”
“You cant be an artist without going to art school. Its impossible. Art schools like being plunged into a sheep dip that inoculates you against cliches. It gives you a sensibility you need to get into the art world.”
“An artist's job is to make new clichés.”
“I was in therapy for six years and then stopped. You get hardwired at adolescence, like a caterpillar that pupates and re-assembles itself as an insect. It's very hard to change after that.”
“Maybe if they didnt tense up, always need to be competitive, always need to be in charge, always need to be the one at the top, men might find that there are benefits from releasing the grip of power.”
“We live in a media saturated world. I'm sure artists of the past would have dealt with it in just the same way. If you're in the business of communication and images, then if you ignore the media-sphere you're just cutting off your own foot. It's just daft.”
“I think people mistakenly get their chaos muddled up with their creativity. Provided you know what your issues are, they're not going to go away.”
“I realised that identity always seemed to be an issue when it was challenged - thats when it seemed to be most in 3D, so that you could look at it.”
“I have a knack for winning prizes; it must be something Ive done!”
“Many office workers loathe dress-down Fridays because they can no longer hide behind a suit. They might have to expose something of their messy selves through their 'casual' clothes.”
“One of the dangers of male emotionality is that theyre not aware of it churning away beneath them the whole time.”