We’ve followed the captivating antics of Whitechapel’s iconic artists for a couple of decades now – and can assuredly say that every show is worth catching.
Having first met as students at Saint Martin’s School of Art exactly half a century ago in 1967, the pair have lived and worked together as a single artist ever since. It goes without saying that they’ve won a stack of awards, including the Turner Prize back in 1986, and represented Great Britain at the 2005 Venice Biennale.
So one to add to your Xmas holiday to-do list is the current show at the White Cube, which celebrates 50 years of their art with The Beard Pictures And Their Fuckosophy, a new exhibition spanning all four galleries at Bermondsey (hint: it really is a lovely airy space).
In the show, Gilbert & George appear as looming, otherworldly figures masked by surreal and symbolic beards; referencing beards not only as an emblem of millennial youth, but also as a mark of religious faith and social status.
The exhibition features more than forty works, including a must-see monumental quadripartite which comprises 4 x 7m wide pictures emblazoned with the words SEX, MONEY, RACE and RELIGION.
Also on display is THE FUCKOSOPHY, a collection of nearly 4000 pronouncements and mottoes created by Gilbert & George and installed on a large scale in the main corridor and gallery.
Not one to take granny to, then. But essential nonetheless.