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09 Jun 2017

Grayson Perry's 'The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever' goes on display at London's Serpentine

London’s Serpentine Gallery has opened a new exhibition by British contemporary artist Grayson Perry dubbed The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever, touching on themes including popularity and art, masculinity, and the current cultural landscape.

Tackling the issue of how contemporary art can best address a diverse cross section of society, the exhibition was featured on a recent Channel 4 documentary Grayson Perry: Divided Britain, which followed the artist as he created new work for the show.

Speaking to the public about the state of Britain following the EU referendum vote, Perry polled the British public on social media, inviting them to contribute ideas, images and phrases to cover the surface of two enormous new pots: one for people who voted to leave the EU and one for people who voted to remain. The pots, titled Matching Pair, are now on display as part of the exhibition.

“I am in the communication business and I want to communicate to as wide an audience as possible,” said Perry. “Nothing pleases me more than meeting someone at one of my exhibitions from what museum people call ‘a nontraditional background.’ The new works I am making all have ideas about popularity hovering around them. What kind of art do people like? What subjects? Why do people like going to art galleries these days? What is the relationship of traditional art to social media?”

Taking place between 8 June and 10 September 2017, the Perry exhibition debuts ahead of the launch of this year’s Serpentine Pavilion in Kensington Gardens, which opens on 23 June and has been designed by award-winning Burkino Faso architect Diébédo Francis Kéré.