Gilbert & George

Describing their relationship in life and work, Gilbert & George have said, “It’s not a collaboration. . . . We are two people, but one artist.” George, born in Devon, England, in 1942, and Gilbert, born in the Dolomites, Italy, in 1943, met while studying sculpture at St. Martin’s School of Art, London, in 1967. One day while taking photos of each other holding their small-scale sculptures, and then without, the artists realized that they could dispense with them altogether. What was most interesting was not the objects themselves, but the pair’s presence as “living sculptures” within the images. They summed up their newly conceived position as artists succinctly: “Art and life became one, and we were the messengers of a new vision. At that moment that we decided we are art and life, every conversation with people became art, and still is.”
While the art world around them in the late 1960s and early 1970s was largely characterized by Pop, Minimalist, and Conceptual art, Gilbert & George developed a wholly unique vision. Although they created their art in a variety of mediums, they considered everything they did to be sculpture: Postal Sculptures, Magazine Sculptures, Charcoal on Paper Sculptures, Drinking Sculptures, and Video Sculptures. Gilbert & George have created a wealth of sculptures in ways never imagined prior to their union, fully integrating their daily existence into their artistic philosophy.
- Introduction
- Gilbert Prousch, sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch (born 17 September 1943 in San Martin de Tor, Italy), and George Passmore (born 8 January 1942 in Plymouth, United Kingdom), are two artists who work together as the collaborative art duo Gilbert & George. They are known for their distinctive and highly formal appearance and manner in performance art, and also for their brightly coloured graphic-style photo-based artworks. In 2017, the artists celebrated their 50th anniversary.
- Wikidata
- Q684974
- Ulan
- 500055847
Exhibitions
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Gilbert & George: The Early Years
May 9–Sep 27, 2015
MoMA
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Ileana Sonnabend: Ambassador for the New
Dec 21, 2013–Apr 21, 2014
MoMA
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MoMA Media Lounge
Feb 29, 2012–Jul 8, 2013
MoMA
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Contemporary Collection
Nov 16, 2011–Feb 9, 2014
MoMA
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Staging Action: Performance in Photography since 1960
Jan 28–May 9, 2011
MoMA
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Gilbert & George has
23 exhibitionsonline.
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Gilbert & George Souvenir Hyde Park Walk 1969
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Gilbert & George Anniversary Invitation for Object-Sculpture Reproduction 1969
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Gilbert & George The Easter Cards 1969
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Gilbert & George Announcement card for The Singing Sculpture 1969
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore New Decadent Art 1969 (mailed 1970)
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore Invitation for anniversary of Underneath the Arches 1969
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Gilbert & George With Us In Nature from Kölner Kunstmarkt 70 1970
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Gilbert & George The Shit and the Cunt from Studio International May 1970 1970
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore To Be With Art Is All We Ask... 1970
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore An Artist’s Impression of Gilbert & George / Sculpture 1970
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore The Words of the Sculptors 1970
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore Art Notes and Thoughts 1970
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore The Pencil on Paper Descriptive Works 1970
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore The Sadness in Our Art 1970
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore To Be With Art Is All We Ask 1970
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore Art & Project Bulletin #20 1970
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Gilbert & George To Be With Art Is All We Ask 1970
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Gilbert & George Two Text Pages Describing Our Position 1970
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore A Message From the Sculptors 1970
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore The Shit and the Cunt 1970
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Gilbert & George There Were Two Young Men from Studio International May 1971, A Magazine Sculpture 1971
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Gilbert & George Experience from The Limericks 1971
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore Side by Side 1971
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore A Day in the Life of George & Gilbert 1971
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore Lost Day from The Limericks 1971
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore Shyness from The Limericks 1971
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore Worldliness from The Limericks 1971
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore Idiot Ambition from The Limericks 1971
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore Normal Boredom from The Limericks 1971
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore Manliness from The Limericks 1971
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore Art & Project Bulletin #47 1971
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore The Ten Speeches 1971
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore Artist's Culture from The Limericks 1971
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Gilbert & George Oh, The Grand Old Duke Of York 1972
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore Gordon's Makes us Drunk 1972
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore A Portrait of the Artists as Young Men 1972
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore In the Bush 1972
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore 1st Post Card 1972
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore As Used by the Sculptors 1972
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Gilbert & George Great Expectations 1972
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Gilbert & George The Majors Port from The Pink Elephants 1973
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Gilbert & George A Guide To The Singing Sculpture 1973
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Gilbert & George Balls from Avalanche Summer/Fall 1973 1973
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Gilbert & George Announcement card for Reclining Drunk 1973
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore The Pink Elephants 1973
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore Dom Perignon from The Pink Elephants 1973
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore Dom Perignon from The Pink Elephants 1973
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Gilbert & George, Gilbert Proesch, George Passmore The Majors Port from The Pink Elephants 1973
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