Grayson Perry - tapestries anchor Mexico traveling exhibition
Published on 08/19/2026 at 16:59 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Grayson Perry brings his tapestry cycle Grayson Perry and the Art of Being Respectable to Mexico in a multi-venue traveling exhibition. As the Amparo and Manuel Foundation outlines, the show opens at San Luis Potosí Museum of Contemporary Art on September 24, 2026 before moving to museums in Mexico City and Guadalajara. Amparo and Manuel Foundation exhibition page
The Mexico exhibition itinerary
The traveling exhibition Grayson Perry and the Art of Being Respectable presents six large tapestries narrating social mobility and class taste through the fictional figure Tim Rakewell. The Amparo and Manuel Foundation confirms venues in San Luis Potosí, Mexico City and Guadalajara between late 2026 and mid 2027. Exhibition overview
The first stop is San Luis Potosí Museum of Contemporary Art from September 24 to November 1, 2026, with museum admission including the tapestries. The show then travels to the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City from December 4, 2026 through May 2027, before concluding at Museo Cabañas in Guadalajara between May and August 2027.
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition presence
Parallel to the Mexico announcement, Grayson Perry is present in London at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2026. Victoria Miro states that works by Perry, including the tapestry Behold Humanity from 2026, feature in the Summer Exhibition running from June 16 to August 23, 2026. Victoria Miro Summer Exhibition news
The Royal Academy show situates Perry alongside fellow Victoria Miro artists Ali Banisadr, Chantal Joffe, Isaac Julien, Conrad Shawcross and Clare Woods, underlining his continued institutional visibility in the United Kingdom during the build-up to the Mexico tour.
Further coverage on Grayson Perry
Explore more news and background on Grayson Perry, from museum shows to television projects and tapestry commissions.
The tapestry cycle and its themes
The six tapestries at the core of Grayson Perry and the Art of Being Respectable draw on William Hogarth’s The Rake’s Progress and Perry’s Channel 4 series All in the Best Possible Taste with Grayson Perry. The foundation describes Tim Rakewell’s “class journey” through British social strata and taste codes as the narrative spine. Curatorial text
One of the works, Expulsion from number 8 Eden close from 2012, weaves domestic interiors, consumer goods and architectural details into a densely patterned scene. Perry uses tapestry as a way to freeze contemporary visual culture, transferring it into a medium associated with historical power and status.
Position in museum collections
Grayson Perry’s tapestries and ceramics are held by major museums including the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and Tate in London, as well as continental European and North American collections. Institutional holdings document his trajectory from the Turner Prize in 2003 to large-scale narrative textiles in the 2010s.
Alongside the Mexico tour and Royal Academy presence, Perry’s work appears in broader collection displays such as thematic exhibitions at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which lists him among contemporary artists in its collection-based shows. These settings extend the reach of his class-conscious imagery beyond the UK.
Grayson Perry at a glance
- Artist: Grayson Perry
- Medium / Genre: Ceramics, tapestries and mixed-media installation
- Born: 1960, Chelmsford, United Kingdom
- Place(s) of practice: Studio practice in the United Kingdom
- Active since: 1980s, with increased institutional visibility since the 1990s
- Key work groups: The Essex House Tapestries: The Life of Julie Cope, Grayson Perry and the Art of Being Respectable, Map of Nowhere, The Vanity of Small Differences
- Current/last exhibition: Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2026, Royal Academy of Arts, London, June 16–August 23, 2026
- Major collections: British Museum (London), Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Tate (London), National Galleries of Scotland (Edinburgh)
- Awards: Turner Prize, 2003
- Next date: September 24, 2026, opening of Grayson Perry and the Art of Being Respectable at San Luis Potosí Museum of Contemporary Art, Mexico
Frequently asked questions about Grayson Perry
Where can Grayson Perry’s tapestries be seen later in 2026?
The tapestry cycle Grayson Perry and the Art of Being Respectable opens at San Luis Potosí Museum of Contemporary Art on September 24, 2026, before traveling to the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City and Museo Cabañas in Guadalajara.
Is Grayson Perry part of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2026?
Victoria Miro confirms that Grayson Perry’s tapestry Behold Humanity is among works shown in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2026, which runs at the Royal Academy of Arts in London from June 16 to August 23, 2026.
What themes does Grayson Perry explore in Grayson Perry and the Art of Being Respectable?
The Amparo and Manuel Foundation explains that the six tapestries trace the “class journey” of Tim Rakewell, exploring social mobility, taste and the ways class shapes aesthetic choices in contemporary Britain.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
