Queerguru’s Ris Fatah reviews ‘Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur’ @ Wallace Collection, London

Photo: Richard Arnett

In an era of global stress and uncertainty, the role of Britain’s national treasures is more important than ever – their strength, fortitude and long-term outlooks a comfort to the troubled. There’s safety in numbers, so the new collaboration between two of Britain’s great national treasures, artist Grayson Perry and the Wallace Collection museum, is perfect timing.Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur features over 40 new works by Perry, including ceramics, tapestries and works on paper. These are displayed alongside some of the masterpieces from the Wallace Collection that have inspired this exhibition. The Wallace Collection is home to one of the largest collections of fine and decorative arts in the world, with works ranging from the 14th to 19th Centuries – lots of food for thought for Perry.

Perry’s work has often focused on ingrained ideas of gender so the extreme masculinity and femininity of 18th Century works in the Wallace Collection – think Madame de Pompadour in her flowing dresses or overtly masculine soldiers in armour – provides a very fertile hunting ground for him.

 

 

This show also examines the nature and future of craft-making. Handcrafted works that have taken dozens of hours to create are shown alongside works made very quickly with digital technology. Which is the more valuable and why?

Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur is a rich, fun, warm, colourful assault on the senses. He’s taken some of the beautiful craftsmanship yet gaudy pomp of the Wallace Collection and made it relevant for a 21st Century audience. They should be very grateful to him, as the two are not natural bedfellows. It’s a reminder of how as humans we have always been obsessed with the lifestyles of the rich. Perry prompts us to question this though, and highlights his own dissatisfaction about how much of his work ends up in the homes of rich west Londoners, a stone’s throw away from the exhibition. (Of course, he could always donate work to the more needy and redress the balance!) Perry has also created a fictional artist for the show, Shirley Smith, and through her work, examines issues such as mental health, how we see ourselves, delusion and wealth. Although in a relatively small space for a London show, there’s a lot of work on display – wallpaper, furniture, tapestries, ceramics, metalwork, portraiture and more – every element of a room in the Wallace Collection is reimagined here, all for the better. Recommended.

 

 

Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur

https://www.wallacecollection.org/

28 March-26 October 2025

 

Queerguru’s Contributing Editor Ris Fatah is a successful fashion/luxury business consultant  (when he can be bothered) who divides and wastes his time between London and Ibiza. He is a lover of all things queer, feminist, and human rights in general. @ris.fatah