Gilbert and George have spent more than 50 years insisting that their entire lives are a single, continuous work of art. So much so that they appear in matching suits at every opening as what they call 'living sculptures'.
The Italian-born Gilbert Prousch and English George Passmore met studying sculpture at Saint Martin's School of Art in 1967 and have worked as one artist ever since. Early on, this took the form of deadpan performances such as The Singing Sculpture. Later, they moved to creating monumental, brightly coloured photo-pieces, placing the two men, suited and expressionless, into photo-grid images. This particular work addressed sex, religion, violence and East London street life.
They won the Turner Prize in 1986 and represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2005.
The Italian-born Gilbert Prousch and English George Passmore met studying sculpture at Saint Martin's School of Art in 1967 and have worked as one artist ever since. Early on, this took the form of deadpan performances such as The Singing Sculpture. Later, they moved to creating monumental, brightly coloured photo-pieces, placing the two men, suited and expressionless, into photo-grid images. This particular work addressed sex, religion, violence and East London street life.
They won the Turner Prize in 1986 and represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2005.
Summary
Gilbert and George have spent more than 50 years insisting that their entire lives are a single, continuous work of art. So much so that they appear in matching suits at every opening as what they call 'living sculptures'.
The Italian-born Gilbert Prousch and English George Passmore met studying sculpture at Saint Martin's School of Art in 1967 and have worked as one artist ever since. Early on, this took the form of deadpan performances such as The Singing Sculpture. Later, they moved to creating monumental, brightly coloured photo-pieces, placing the two men, suited and expressionless, into photo-grid images. This particular work addressed sex, religion, violence and East London street life.
They won the Turner Prize in 1986 and represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2005.
The Italian-born Gilbert Prousch and English George Passmore met studying sculpture at Saint Martin's School of Art in 1967 and have worked as one artist ever since. Early on, this took the form of deadpan performances such as The Singing Sculpture. Later, they moved to creating monumental, brightly coloured photo-pieces, placing the two men, suited and expressionless, into photo-grid images. This particular work addressed sex, religion, violence and East London street life.
They won the Turner Prize in 1986 and represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2005.
Artworks by Gilbert and George
About Gilbert and George
Biography
About Gilbert and George
Gilbert Prousch was born in 1943 in the Dolomites, Italy. George Passmore was born in 1942 in Plymouth, England. The two met in 1967 as students at Saint Martin's School of Art in London and have made only collaborative work since. They moved into a house in Fournier Street, Spitalfields, which has remained their home and studio for more than 50 years.
Living sculptures
Gilbert and George's earliest works pushed the definition of sculpture to its limit. Charcoal drawings, postal pieces, magazine spreads and lecture performances were all described, only half-jokingly, as sculpture and culminated in The Singing Sculpture. Their faces and hands covered in bronze paint, the pair mimed for hours to the music hall song Underneath the Arches.
Their declaration that “our whole life is one big sculpture” has guided every stage of their work since. This includes the large scale, grid-based photo-pieces they began producing in the early 1970s. They call these The Pictures, which remain their primary form to this day.
Grids, colour and editions
From the mid-1970s, Gilbert and George began handcolouring their black-and-white photo grids in reds, yellows and greens, which gave the large scale Pictures a stained-glass-like intensity.
Alongside these unique photo-pieces, the pair have released a substantial body of limited edition prints and posters. These include silkscreens, offset wall posters and signed poster sets tied to major exhibitions, extending their imagery to a wider audience beyond the gallery wall.
They won the Turner Prize in 1986 and represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2005. In 2023, they opened the Gilbert & George Centre in Spitalfields, a permanent home for their art and archive, and a short walk from where they have lived and worked since the 1960s.
Biography
About Gilbert and George
Gilbert Prousch was born in 1943 in the Dolomites, Italy. George Passmore was born in 1942 in Plymouth, England. The two met in 1967 as students at Saint Martin's School of Art in London and have made only collaborative work since. They moved into a house in Fournier Street, Spitalfields, which has remained their home and studio for more than 50 years.
Living sculptures
Gilbert and George's earliest works pushed the definition of sculpture to its limit. Charcoal drawings, postal pieces, magazine spreads and lecture performances were all described, only half-jokingly, as sculpture and culminated in The Singing Sculpture. Their faces and hands covered in bronze paint, the pair mimed for hours to the music hall song Underneath the Arches.
Their declaration that “our whole life is one big sculpture” has guided every stage of their work since. This includes the large scale, grid-based photo-pieces they began producing in the early 1970s. They call these The Pictures, which remain their primary form to this day.
Grids, colour and editions
From the mid-1970s, Gilbert and George began handcolouring their black-and-white photo grids in reds, yellows and greens, which gave the large scale Pictures a stained-glass-like intensity.
Alongside these unique photo-pieces, the pair have released a substantial body of limited edition prints and posters. These include silkscreens, offset wall posters and signed poster sets tied to major exhibitions, extending their imagery to a wider audience beyond the gallery wall.
They won the Turner Prize in 1986 and represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2005. In 2023, they opened the Gilbert & George Centre in Spitalfields, a permanent home for their art and archive, and a short walk from where they have lived and worked since the 1960s.