The Island Of Bad Art
Signed Print

Grayson Perry’s fascination with maps is evident in his multiple renditions of fictitious cityscapes and nations, such as in Map Of Nowhere or Map Of An Englishman. For The Island of Bad Art, Perry drew from 16th-century maps of Venice. The etching presents the viewer with an ironic and parodic pun on the art showcased biannually in the Italian city, offering a commentary on the taste, or lack of, found in the art exhibition.

The etching was displayed on the occasion of the exhibition Multiple Thoughts, hosted by the Royal Academy of Arts, London, for their 250th anniversary. That same year, Perry curated the RA’s Summer Exhibition, displaying his famous print Selfie with a Political Cause. Once again for this exhibition Perry and a selection of other Royal Academicians were asked to produce a print, the exhibition being in celebration of printmaking. “Artists have always been excited by the possibilities of using printing as an original and expressive medium. From Rembrandt to David Hockney and from Hokusai to Tracey Emin, printmaking has expanded the range and reach of authentic creative ideas. Print opens to artists methods of making through collaboration in craft and technology.” , said Chris Orr.

Displayed side by side with works by John Carter and Rebecca Salter, this work thus attests both to Perry’s well-recognised presence within the art establishment and to his desire to engage with questions of collective taste and art-making with his distinctive humoristic attitude.

The highest value realised for a work by Grayson Perry was in October 2017, when I Want To Be An Artist fetched £632,750 at Christie's, London. The values achieved for Perry's work at auction regularly land in the hundreds of thousands of pounds.