By Mary Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“A Weed Is Just a Plant in the Wrong Place,” the title of a ceramic work by British artist and 2003 Turner Prize awardee Grayson Perry, may also be read as a cornerstone of his personal philosophy, informing both actions and artistic expression.
Eleven of Perry’s spectacular ceramics — the medium that captured the attention of the Turner’s jurors — along with a few drawings and two complex etchings, make up an exhibition of his work at The Andy Warhol Museum that has been extended through May 7.
In person and in his artwork, Perry employs seductive methods to attract viewers. Then he delivers a punch.
He shot a number of zingers into the audience, for example, during a slide-illustrated lecture given at the exhibition opening. Outfitted as his transvestite alter ego Claire in a trademark baby doll-style dress — this one sophisticated black for the special museum occasion and accented with gold bows in recognition of the hometown team that was causing such a furor at the time — the artist was simultaneously saucy and vulnerable.