Gilbert Prousch, sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch (born 17 September 1943), and George Passmore (born 8 January 1942) are artists who work together as the collaborative art duo Gilbert & George. They are known for their formal appearance and manner in

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

, and for their brightly coloured graphic-style

photo A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. The process and pra ...

-based artworks. In 2017 the pair celebrated their 50th anniversary as collaborators. In April 2023 Gilbert & George opened the Gilbert & George Centre in Heneage Street, London E1, to showcase their work in regular exhibitions.

Early lives

Gilbert Prousch was born in San Martin de Tor in

Alto Adige South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The provinc ...

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

, northern Italy, his native language being Ladin. He studied art at the

Sëlva Sëlva (; ; ) is a (municipality) and a village in the Val Gardena in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about east of the city of Bolzano. The Ladin language, Ladin and Italian place names derive from the Latin word ("wood"). History Coat ...

School of Art in

Val Gardena Val Gardena (; ; ) is a valley in the Dolomites of South Tyrol, Northern Italy. It is best known as a tourist skiing, rock climbing, and woodcarving area. Geography The valley's main river is the Derjon, a tributary of the Eisack river. The ...

and

Hallein Hallein () is a historic town in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. It is the capital of Hallein (district), Hallein district. Geography The town is located in the ''Tennengau'' region south of the City of Salzburg, stretching alo ...

School of Art in Austria and the Akademie der Kunst, Munich, before moving to England. George Passmore was born in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

in the United Kingdom, to a single mother in a low-income household. He dropped out of regular school by the time he was fifteen years old and studied art at

Dartington College of Arts Dartington College of Arts was a specialist arts college located at Dartington Hall in the south-west of England, offering courses at degree and postgraduate level together with an arts research programme. It existed for a period of almost 50 ...

and then Oxford School of Art. The two first met on 25 September 1967 while studying sculpture at

Saint Martin's School of Art Saint Martin's School of Art was an art school, art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's beca ...

. The two claim they came together because George was the only person who could understand Gilbert's rather poor English. In a 2002 interview with ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', they said of their meeting: "it was love at first sight". They married in 2008. They are often seen together on walks through East London. Since 1968, Gilbert & George have been residents of Fournier Street,

Spitalfields Spitalfields () is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and situated in the East End of London, East End. Spitalfields is formed around Commercial Street, London, Commercial Stre ...

, East London. They live in an 18th-century house that has been restored to its original decor. Their entire body of work has been created in, and focused on, London's East End, which they see as a microcosm. According to George, "Nothing happens in the world that doesn't happen in the East End."

Work

Gilbert and George claim that their approach to art has always been anti-elitist. Adopting the slogan 'Art for All', they aimed to be relevant beyond the narrow confines of the art world. Although they work in a variety of media, they have always referred to all of their works as "sculpture". Between 1970 and 1974 they made drawings (referred to as 'Charcoal on Paper Sculptures') and paintings to give a more tangible form to their identity as 'living sculptures'. One of their first notable works of art was a photographic self-portrait of them wearing their trademark suits. ''George the Cunt and Gilbert the Shit'' was so titled to forestall criticism.

Singing and living sculptures

Whilst still students, Gilbert & George made ''The Singing Sculpture'', which was performed at the

National Jazz and Blues Festival The National Jazz and Blues Festival was the precursor to the Reading Rock Festival and was the brainchild of Harold Pendleton, the founder of the prestigious Marquee Club in Soho. History Initially called The National Jazz Festival, it was ...

in 1969 and at the Nigel Greenwood Gallery in 1970. For this performance they covered their heads and hands in multi-coloured metalised powders, stood on a table, and sang along and moved to a recording of Flanagan and Allen's song " Underneath the Arches", sometimes for a day at a time. The suits they wore for this became a uniform for them. They rarely appear in public without wearing them. It is also unusual for one of the pair to be seen without the other. The pair regard themselves as "living sculptures". They refuse to dissociate their art from their everyday lives, insisting that everything they do is art. They were listed as among the fifty best-dressed over-50s by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' in March 2013.

''The Pictures''

The pair are known for their large scale photo works, known as ''The Pictures''. The early work in this style is in black and white, later with hand-painted red and yellow touches. They proceeded to use a range of bolder colours, sometimes backlit, and overlaid with black grids. Their work has addressed a wide variety of subject matter including religion and patriotism. The two artists also often appear in their own "pictures". They have described their "pictures" as a sort of "visual love letter from us to the viewer". In 1986, Gilbert & George were criticised for a series of pictures seemingly glamourising 'rough types' of London's East End such as

skinhead A skinhead or skin is a member of a subculture that originated among working-class youth in London, England, in the 1960s. It soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working-class skinhead movement emerging worldwide i ...

s, while a picture of an Asian man bore the title "Paki". Some of their work has attracted media attention because of the inclusion of (potentially) shocking imagery, such as

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and not ...

, depictions of

sexual acts Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) t ...

, and bodily fluids (

faeces Feces (also known as faeces American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, or fæces; : faex) are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the ...

urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and many other animals. In placental mammals, urine flows from the Kidney (vertebrates), kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder and exits the urethra through the penile meatus (mal ...

and

semen Semen, also known as seminal fluid, is a bodily fluid that contains spermatozoon, spermatozoa which is secreted by the male gonads (sexual glands) and other sexual organs of male or hermaphrodite, hermaphroditic animals. In humans and placen ...

). The titles of these works, such as ''Naked Shit Pictures'' (1994) and ''Sonofagod Pictures'' (2005), also contributed to the attention. The pair starred in a documentary series, ''The Fundamental Gilbert and George'', in 1997 for

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...

(LWT). It went on to win the

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

for the best documentary series. A book, ''The Complete Pictures, 1971–2005'', published in 2007 by

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

, includes over a thousand examples of their art. In May 2007, Gilbert & George were the subject of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

documentary '' Imagine'', presented by

Alan Yentob Alan Yentob (11 March 1947 – 24 May 2025) was an English television executive and presenter. He held senior roles at the BBC, including head of music and arts, controller of BBC1 and BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadca ...

. At the end of the programme a picture entitled 'Planed' was made available as a free file download from the

and ''The Guardian'' websites for 48 hours. People who downloaded the files could then print and assemble the piece, and thus own an original Gilbert and George picture for free.

''Jack Freak Pictures''

''Jack Freak Pictures'' is, to date, the largest series of work created by Gilbert & George. According to Michael Bracewell "the ''Jack Freak Pictures'' are among the most iconic, philosophically astute and visually violent works that Gilbert & George have ever created." The Union Jack and Gilbert & George are the two dominant pictorial images – appearing contorted, abstracted, and sometimes complete. The entire series is set in the East End of London indicated by flags, maps, street signs, graffiti and other less obvious motifs such as brickwork and foliage that can be found there. After showing at

White Cube White Cube is a contemporary art gallery founded by Jay Jopling in London in 1993. The gallery has two branches in London: White Cube Mason's Yard in central London and White Cube Bermondsey in South East London; White Cube Hong Kong, in Centra ...

's Hoxton and Mason Yard galleries in 2009 the exhibition travelled to the Croatian

Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb The Museum of Contemporary Art (, often abbreviated to MSU) is a contemporary art art museum, museum located on Dubrovnik Avenue in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the biggest and most modern museum in the country. Vesna Meštrić is current director of MS ...

; The Kröller-Müller Museum, the Netherlands; Centro de Arte Contemporaneo de Malaga, Spain; Arndt & Partner gallery, Berlin; the Baronian Francey Gallery, Brussels; and the Bozar Center for Fine Arts,

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Later work

In 2019, Gilbert & George held their first solo exhibition in Asia a
Lehmann Maupin
Hong Kong, presenting the series ''THE BEARD PICTURES''. During lockdown amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Gilbert & George started an online video diary, posting weekly updates on life in their newly limited circumstances. The bulletins, often short films, were a continuation of their usual creative habit of documenting social change.

Awards and honours

Gilbert & George have received acclaim with extensive solo exhibitions in the UK, USA, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Russia and China; numerous Honorary Doctorates from academic institutions including Plymouth University; and awards such as the Special International Award, the South Bank Award and the Lorenzo il Magnifico Award. In 1986 they won the Turner Prize which is widely considered to be the UK's most prestigious contemporary art award. In 2005 they represented the UK at the 51st

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

. In 2017, Gilbert & George were elected to the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

; in 2020, however, they resigned from the academy in reaction to a decision not to go ahead with an exhibition they had been planning to stage in its galleries. Notable honours include: *1981 – won the ''Regione Lazio Award'' (Torino) *1986 – won the ''

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

'' *1989 – won the ''Special International Award'' (Los Angeles) *2005 – represented the UK at the

*2007 – their retrospective at

was the largest of any of the artists who have had retrospectives there *2007 – won the ''

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...

Award'', as well as the ''Lorenzo il Magnifico Award'' (Florence). *December 2008 – awarded Honorary Doctorates by

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public university, public research university in London, England. The University of North London and London Guildhall University merged in 2002 to create the university. The Un ...

. *October 2010 – awarded the honorary title "Magister Artium Gandensis" by University College Ghent *November 2010 – conferred with Honorary Doctorates by the

University of East London University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...

*March 2012 – conferred with Honorary Doctorates by the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

*2013 – awarded Honorary Doctorates of Arts by

Plymouth University The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

*2017 – elected as Royal Academicians by the

in London, resigned in 2020

Political stance

Gilbert & George claim to be an oddity in the artistic world because of their openly conservative political views and their praise for

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

. George claims never to have been anti-establishment: "You're not allowed to be Conservative in the art world, of course," he says. "Left equals good. Art equals Left. Pop stars and artists are meant to be so original. So how come everyone has the same opinion? ... We admire Margaret Thatcher greatly. She did a lot for art. Socialism wants everyone to be equal. We want to be different." Both are supportive of

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

and the Conservative Party. The duo are

monarchists Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...

and have said of the King, at the time

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

: "We're also fond of the Prince of Wales: he's a gentleman." In a ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

'' interview, they said that they opposed the removal of statues after the George Floyd protests, saying that "they're part of the city" and that their removal is "shameful".

Influence and legacy

Gilbert & George inspired two characters, Man Green and Man Yellow, Chief Constables of the Science Gestapo, in

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...

's comicbook series '' The Filth''. The two characters appear in pastiches of Gilbert & George's artwork, with the separate sections of the imagery acting as individual comic book panels. The look that electronic music band

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...

adopted between 1974 and 1978, with men in suits wearing ties, was partly inspired by Gilbert & George: musicians

Florian Schneider Florian Schneider-Esleben (7 April 194721 April 2020) was a German musician. He is best known as one of the founding members and leaders of the electronic band Kraftwerk, performing his role with the band until his departure in 2008. Early li ...

and Ralf Hütter had seen an exhibition of the artists in Düsseldorf in 1970 and were inspired by the idea of "bringing art into everyday life".

Vic Reeves James Roderick Moir (born 24 January 1959), commonly known by his stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian and artist. He has a double act with Bob Mortimer as Reeves & Mortimer. He is known for his surreal sense of humour. In 2003, Ree ...

has explained to ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' that '' Vic Reeves Big Night Out'' was initially thought of as "performance art, like Gilbert and George's singing sculpture".

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

was a collector of the artists' work. On 1 April 2023, the Gilbert & George Centre was inaugurated on Heneage Street (near Aldgate East station). It features three gallery spaces in a building redesigned in 2017 by SIRS Architects with sustainability in mind. When speaking to Tabish Khan, writing for

Artsy Artsy, formally known as Art.sy Inc is a New York City based online art brokerage. Its main business is developing and hosting website for numerous galleries as well as selling art for them. It utilizes a search engine and database to draw conne ...

, a spokesperson for the centre stated: “After the deaths of Gilbert & George, it is intended that the properties in Fournier Street occupied by them, which contain their archives will become a place of scholarship and research into the art of Gilbert & George".

References

Notes Further reading * Baudino, Isabelle; Gautheron, Marie, eds. (2005), ''Gilbert & George, E1'', Lyon: ENS Editions (to accompany an exhibition at the Musée d'art moderne de Saint-Etienne, parallel French and English texts) * Dutt, Robin (2004), ''Gilbert & George: obsessions & compulsions''. London: Philip Wilson Publishers * Farson, Daniel (1999), ''Gilbert & George: a Portrait'', London: HarperCollins * Farson, Daniel (1991), ''With Gilbert & George in Moscow'', London: Bloomsbury * Fuchs, Rudi (2007), ''Gilbert & George: the Complete Pictures'', Tate Publishing * Gilbert & George (1987) ''The Words of Gilbert & George'', Violette Editions, London, * Jahn, Wolf (2023), ''The Meaning of the Earth'', London: Hurtwood Press * Jahn, Wolf (1989), ''The art of Gilbert & George, or, An aesthetic of existence'', London: Thames & Hudson * Jonquet, François (2005), ''Intimate Conversation'', London: Phaidon * Rosenblum, Robert (2004), ''Introducing Gilbert & George'', London: Thames & Hudson Exhibition catalogues *1997: Lehmann Maupin, New York,
The Fundamental Pictures
' *2001: White Cube, London, ''New Horny Pictures'' *2004: Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, ''London E1 Pictures'' *2004: Gallery Bernier/Eliades, Athens, ''Thirteen Hooligan Pictures'' *2004: Sonnabend Gallery/Lehmann Maupin, New York
Perversive Pictures 2004
' *2006: White Cube, London, ''Sonofagod Pictures'' *2012: White Cube, London, ''London Pictures'' *2017: White Cube, London, ''The Beard Pictures'' *2021: White Cube, London, ''New Normal Pictures'' *2023: White Cube, London & West Palm Beach, ''The Corpsing Pictures''

External links

* Gilbert & George solo exhibition at White Cube Gallery Bermondsey London, review by art critic Kostas Prapoglo
for ''THE SEEN'' Journal
February 2016
2007 interview from ''Independent on Sunday'' ABC Arts magazineGilbert and George: Major Exhibition at Tate Modern, London, 2007
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20141007084517/http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/artists/1658 Gilbert & George works in the Guggenheim Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert and George 1943 births 1942 births Alumni of Saint Martin's School of Art Art duos British gay artists British LGBTQ sculptors British LGBTQ photographers British performance artists British male sculptors British monarchists British conceptual artists British photographers Gay photographers Gay sculptors Living people People from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets British postmodern artists Turner Prize winners English contemporary artists Royal Academicians British Eurosceptics Italian monarchists Italian male sculptors Italian conceptual artists Italian contemporary artists Italian eurosceptics Italian gay artists Italian LGBTQ sculptors Italian LGBTQ photographers Alumni of Dartington College of Arts