Garrett Perry has a slight obsession with cats and cat memorabilia and has wasted many days watching television throughout his youth. However as an emerging artist living in Minneapolis, television and visual culture has become a crucial aspect to his work. He received a BFA from College of Visual Arts and currently works out of his studio in St. Paul.
“Virginia Woolf said: ‘Growing up is losing some illusions, in order to acquire others.’ My recent body of work addresses my fear and anxiousness about growing up. I am interested in creating illusions that play on that anxiety about what maturing means, rooted in the pressures associated with leaving my childhood behind and assuming some stereotypical kind of adulthood. Three specific concepts are examined within my artwork: nostalgia, fantasy and cultural identity. I use source material from popular culture and art history as a departure point to investigate these concepts and, through the process of painting and drawing, try to deconstruct the monotony of adult life. Growing up is a drag, and no one wants to do it. To quote Alphaville: ‘I want to be forever young.’” -Garrett Perry