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Gilbert & George at DOX

The renowned British artistic duo Gilbert & George will be introduced to the Czech public at DOX presenting six art works from the period between 1972 and 1992. The artists, who became recognized for their specific kind of performance art called ‘living sculptures’ in the early 1970s are now usually identified with photo-based art works that they color with bright colors and assemble into greater formats using regular grid. The exhibition runs from 7 October 2010 until 2 January 2011.

The exhibition is a part of the international project Decadence Now! which runs simultaneously at Galerie Rudolfinum presenting the art of Gilbert & George in a specific context.

The art of Gilbert & George had a great impact on the generation of artists coming of age in the 1980s and 1990s, i.e., the period covered by the exhibition. The selection of works presented in the exhibition covers all the key periods in the artists’ career: the early chaotic piece organized around asymmetric parts (The Major´s Port) is gaining a more symmetric form (Human Bondage) then color is introduced
(Fuck), which eventually dominates in the artists’ later works. The subtitle of the exhibition Roads comes from the largest piece in the exhibition (253 × 639 cm) shown in DOX tower top gallery devoted to special projects such as site-specific installations or large-size art works. This piece, Roads, symbolizing seeking and transition, is considered by the curator Otto M. Urban to be marking a breaking point in Gilbert and George’s artistic career.


The retrospective chatacter of the exhibition ends in 1992, the year when the piece Yell originated. Works from the period between the years 1997 and 2005 are presented in Galerie Rudolfinum. “In effect, Rudolfinum presents the works of Gilbert & George from the second half of the 1990s onwards whereas DOX showcases the earlier periods until then. The exhibition at DOX is put together in such manner that it works independently as almost a separate exhibition. The Rudolfinum exhibition can be perceived as a supplementary one," says the curator Otto M. Urban about the artwork selection process: “This is a truly representative and prestigious collection.“



In conjunction with the exhibition the DOX Center is publishing a booklet with an introductory text by Otto M. Urban.

Gilbert & George
The British artistic duo Gilbert & George consists of Gilbert Proesch, born 1943 in San Marino, Italy and George Passmore, born 1942 in Plymouth, United Kingdom. These two men first met in 1967 while studying sculpture at St. Martins School of Art in London. Since then, they have become both life and artistic partners. The beginnings of their creation are connected to the artistic genre of performance art. The characteristic feature of their performances was the presentation of moments and everyday situations, which they called ‘living sculptures’ and documented by photography, film or video. In their work, the pair always appeared dressed formally, and this specific feature is to be found even in their later work. Gilbert & George further developed their collaborative efforts with photography by coloring enlargements with primal hues and organizing them into larger sets of regular networks. They often chose themes attacking social taboos drawn from the environment of London‘s East End, where they both reside and work. As an artistic duo, Gilbert & George have won the Turner Prize (1986), represented the UK at the Venice Biennale (2005), and had a large retrospective at the Tate Modern (2007). The works of Gilbert & George are also represented in many private and public collections around the world.

Accompanying Programs
DOX Centre for Contemporary Art organizes a series of accompanying programs to the exhibition. Events take place either in the lecture hall or in the DOX cafeteria from 18.00 o’clock. Updated schedule of regular events can be found at the website www.doxprague.org.

25 October 2010, at 6:00 p.m.
A lecture by Karel Císař: Grid and Order in the Works of Gilbert & George
The lecture will focus on the artistic and social role of the grid and order in Gilbert’s & George’s work, referring not only to their famous photographic works from the 1970s and
’80s, but also to their work with drawing, film, and archives.

15 November 2010, at 6:00 p.m.
A lecture by Jiří Valoch: Photos in Conceptual Art with Regard to Early Works of Gilbert & George
Many authors started to use photos as an exact articulation of their concept, as from husbands Bechers and Edward Ruscha, others for example combine photos with texts.

2 December 2010, at 6:00 p.m.
A lecture by Pavlína Morganová: Living Sculpture
The lecture will present the transformation of sculpture in the 20th century in a wider context, with an emphasis on blending sculpture and action, as well as the works of Gilbert & George.

All the events are presented in Czech.

Guided tours and a special educational program “Taboo in Arts“ can be booked upon request in English, German, French, Italian, Norwegian.
Find more on www.doxprague.org

DOX Partners:
Zdeněk Bakala, City of Prague, TECHO, a.s., Premiant City Tour s.r.o., Prague Events Calendar, Poster Infinity s.r.o.
The DOX Centre is financially supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

DOX Media partner:
Hospodářské noviny




CONTACTS:
DOX Centre for Contemporary Art
Office
Vojtěšská 8, 110 00 Prague 1
T: +420 224 930 927
E: info@doxprague.org or media@doxprague.org
Exhibition room
Poupětova 1a, 170 00 Prague 7
www.doxprague.org
www.facebook.com/DOXPrague.cz

Opening hours
Mon: 10am–6pm
Tue: closed
Wed to Fri: 11am–7pm
Sat and Sun: 10am–6pm

Contact for editors:
Mediareport, s.r.o.
Terezie Kaslová
E: kaslova@mediareport.cz
media@doxprague.org
Phone: +420 603 551 372





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