Gilbert & George : a Portrait - Hardcover

Farson, Daniel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0002558572 ISBN 13: 9780002558570

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1999

Synopsis

The candid, revealing inside story of one of the great and most original art acts of our time: the enigmatic ‘living sculptures’ based in Spitalfields in London’s East End, who are now widely recognised as perhaps the most important living artists on the international scene.

Written with the full cooperation of Gilbert and George, this will be a definitive biography (with illustration sections) rather than a pure art book: very much along the lines fo the author’s vivid, intimate, bestselling portrayal of THE GILDED GUTTER LIFE OF FRANCIS BACON.

Gilbert and George have marketed their work with extraordinary single-mindedness since they appeared together in the late 1960s. Their technique – taking thousands of photographs, assembling a theme in panels and dyeing them in vivid colours – is unequalled. Whether you love them or hate them, they are two of the most exciting artists alive. Their relationship appears odd to the outsider, but is undeniably a great love story. Their appearance (identical three-buttoned suits) has become their trademark.

About this title

Product Description:

Gilbert & George : A Portrait

Review:

This affectionate, almost loving, portrait of two of Britain's most distinguished and most controversial artists is made all the more poignant by that fact that the biographer, art journalist and author Daniel Farson, died while writing it. Being Gilbert & George, the salacious material is fairly unorthodox--the most shocking revelation is that George married as a young man and has two children--and for the most part Farson is almost apologetic about any intrusion into Proesch and Passmore's (their surnames) private lives. The first half of the book takes us from childhoods in the Dolomites and Tiverton via their meeting at St Martin's School of Art in the late 1960s to their current status as art icons. The second half sees Dan following them around--Moscow, Shanghai, Barnstable--as they exhibit around the world. Farson wisely highlights his admiration for them at the outset and the reader is clear that this is no hatchet job. That said he covers both the art and the lives with a straightforward professionalism that is never less than absorbing. This book is a fine tribute to Gilbert & George. Equally their closing words are fine tribute to Farson. "On 27 November our dear Daniel died, not knowing how much we loved him (though we told him often enough)". --Nick Wroe

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0002558572
• ISBN 13: 9780002558570
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256