You are kindly invited to
the
press conference of the
exhibition
Gilbert
& George
Jack Freak
Pictures
On
Thursday 28 October at 11am
In the presence of Gilbert and
George.
Interviews are possible. Please feel free to contact leen.daems@bozar.be.
Centre for Fine
Arts
Entrance Rue Ravensteinstraat 23, 1000
Brussels
We would like to welcome you for a drink after the press
conference.
Thank you for confirming your presence by mail
to
leen.daems@bozar.be.
Gilbert &
George
Jack Freak
Pictures
29.10.2010
>
23.01.2011
The Centre for Fine Arts presents a major new exhibition by the
art
[UTF-8?]world’s most enduring duo Gilbert & George. The Jack Freak Pictures comprise the largest group of
pictures
created to date by Gilbert & George, 153 in total, and are a
consolidation of the themes to
be
found in their art over the last forty years: urban life, race, sexuality, nationalism, religion, death,
hope,
life, fear. The clarity of vision and powerful emotion in the
visual
language of Gilbert & George remains stronger than ever in
this
extraordinary new group of pictures, about eighty-five of which will be shown at the Centre for Fine
Arts
in autumn
2010.
The Jack Freak Pictures
feature
distinctive pictorial
elements
and of course the artists themselves, seen in various guises and
with
contorted bodies, intermingled with geometric
and figurative patterns. The most dominant pictorial element is the
Union Jack, itself both an internationally familiar,
geometric
pattern, and a politically charged symbol, the significance of which
spans
the cultural spectrum from contemporary fashion to aggressive
national
pride.
Gilbert & George have exhibited at the Centre of Fine Arts
twice
before: in 1973 in the exhibition From Henry Moore to Gilbert &
George,
which was presented under the framework of [UTF-8?]‘Europalia
[UTF-8?]Great-Britain’;
and
again in 1986, with their important survey exhibition, Gilbert & George:
The
Complete Pictures
1971-1985.
This exhibition of the Jack Freak Pictures is presented in association with
the
British Council, and after the showing at the Centre for Fine Arts,
will
tour to Hamburg (Deichtorhallen), Linz (Lentos Kunstmuseum) and
Gdansk
(Laznia Centre for Contemporary
Art).
Gilbert &
George
Gilbert
(Dolomiles,
Italy, 1943) and George
(Devon, England, 1942) met at Saint Martin's School of Art in London
in
1967. At the end of the 1960s they triumphed on the international
scene
with a subversive concept of sculpture, creating sculptures that
went
farther than simply objects. This idea led them to make themselves parts
of
their art, which they joined as "living sculptures". Since
their
first creation, The Singing
Sculpture
(1969), and their already legendary Underneath
the Arches, Gilbert & George have spent more than forty
years
creating art as a single artistic collective, and they have created
more
than two thousand works of art.
Their achievement and ambitions as artists, encompassed by
their
argument of "Art for All", have consisted of describing
the
intense and universal experience of living in the modern world.
Presenting
images taken from reality and even from themselves as figures, they
manage
to create an art that speaks of daily life and intellectual artistic
aspects.
Until 1974 they worked exclusively in black and white; that year
they
introduced graffiti and the colour red; and in the 1980s they added
yellow,
green and blue. They only started to spatter colour on all their images
in
1982. Since 2003 they have increased their use of computers to
digitally
alter and improve their art, enormous polyptychs that seem to
surround
viewers and produce great aesthetic
impact.
Jack Freak
Pictures
The common element running throughout the Jack Freak Pictures is the flag of the United Kingdom,
the Union Jack, as this
flag's
historical and symbolic presence is the exhibition's connecting
theme.
Moving beyond icons and the absurd, Gilbert & George allow their
motif
to keep its own ambiguous rhetoric so they can deal with geometric
and
abstract drawing in red, blue and white to the maximum possible
extent.
In this group of pictures, with its evocation of atmospheres
and
emotions, pictorial elements
are
relatively few and include medals, amulets, trees, foliage, city maps
of
East London, bricks, the Union Jack, the street and the artists themselves. They attribute an almost
magical
meaning to nature and use it like an emblem. Here the human body and
face
(especially eyes and fingers) are mutations of themselves, taking the
form
of inhuman presences such as prophets, totems and monsters
(Hecatomb,
Homey, Brits, etc.). The artists appear dressed in
multi-coloured,
patterned clothes such as the kind worn by actors and comedians in
variety
reviews (Metalepsy, Street Party, Jesus Suits, etc.), as
"flag
men" literally composed with the Union Jack (Metaljack,
Bleeding
Medals, Frigidarium, etc.) and as dancers, looking like robots
or
marionettes, lost in a kind of trance and absorbed by the
pictorial
support, to end up transformed into living sculptures (Harvest
Dance,
Cancan, Stuff Religion, etc.).
From a formal perspective, their huge pictures take on the
same
aspect as large stained-glass windows, or enormous kaleidoscopes
dominated
by geometric motifs and pure, flat and intense colours. These
fragmented
structures make many points of view possible without letting their art
turn
into mere visual anecdotes, and the frontality of the compositions
beckon
to viewers in a simple way that reinforces their ceremonial and
ornamental
qualities at the same time. All this supports a purpose they explain
as
wanting to enter into the person, wanting to be successful and wanting
to
be right; they try to place themselves within the soul of the viewer
so
that he/she remembers the image forever.
All the exhibited pictures were created in
2008
using mixed media.
In the margins of the
exhibition
As a complement to the exhibition, visitors can see
the film The Secret Files of Gilbert & George. This
interview,
filmed in 2000 by the curator Hans Ulrich
Obrist for an exhibition at the Musée [UTF-8?]d’Art
moderne
de
la Ville de Paris, concentrates on the hysteria of the archive and
the
collection. Through this document, which does not fit into any
distinct
category (documentary, oeuvre, fiction) we discover Gilbert &
[UTF-8?]George’s
intimate life, the interior of their London house, a veritable museum
of
obsessions.
One of the highlights of this exhibition will be the new edition of
BOZAR
by NIGHT on 10 November 2010.
During this event, Gilbert and [UTF-8?]George’s Jack Freak
Pictures
exhibition and Wim [UTF-8?]Delvoye’s [UTF-8?]Knockin’ on
[UTF-8?]heaven’s door
exhibition,
will remain open to the public between 8 and 12 pm. Inside
these,
audiovisual and performing arts students will give short
performances
inspired by the works on show. Alongside these, the public will be able
to
enjoy a screening of Julian [UTF-8?]Cole’s movie With Gilbert &
George
(2008), an intimate and moving portrait that reveals the
individuals
behind the living sculptures. This film will be screened in
collaboration
with Jeunesse et Arts Plastiques (JAP). From 10 pm until the wee hours
of
the morning, the Horta Hall will come alive with sets by famous
[UTF-8?]DJ’s
such as Cal & Sikey, Mustang (Cosy Mozzy & Andy
Faisca),
Mauro [UTF-8?]‘tanzdebil’ Pawlowski & Sven Mes AKA Chubbee Bee as
well
as
Sylvestre Defontaine & Yves Brunson (Pure FM). These duos and
many
others, Gilbert & George oblige, will make this night in BOZAR
a
night to
remember!
Location: Centre for Fine Arts, Ravenstein
circuit
In collaboration with: British Council
Supported by: Gallery Baronian-Francey, British Embassy
Brussels
In the
framework
of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European
Union
Press
images
http://www.bozar.be/activity.php?id=9471&pressguest=1&lng=en
Practical
information
Gilbert &
George
Jack Freak
Pictures
Address
BOZAR [UTF-8?]– Centre for Fine
Arts
Rue Ravensteinstraat
23
1000
Brussels
Dates
29.10.2010 -
23.01.2011
Opening hours
Tuesdays to Sundays, 10 am > 6 pm
Thursdays, 10 am > 9
pm
Closed on
Mondays
Price
€ 10,00 [UTF-8?]– [UTF-8?]€ 8,00 - [UTF-8?]€ 5,00
Info &
tickets
T. +32 (0)2 507 82 00 [UTF-8?]–
www.bozar.be
Guided
tours
For groups
Guided tours on demand
+32 (0)70 344 577 - groups@bozar.be
For individuals
Every Sunday [UTF-8?]– 13.30 EN | 15.00 NL | 15.30
FR
€ 4,00 - [UTF-8?]€ 3,00 + ticket for
exhibition
Catalogue Gilbert
& George: Jack Freak
Pictures
Bilingual edition (NL/FR)
Publisher: Hatje Cantz &
BOZARBOOKS
Price: [UTF-8?]€
18
Softcover, 174 p., 30 x 24
cm
Image: Gilbert & George UNION DANCE
226
x 190 cm © Gilbert &
George
