British art duo Gilbert & George have opened their new art museum in a former brewery off Brick Lane in Spitalfields, east London.
Designed in collaboration with SIRS Architects as a gift to the local community, the permanent venue for Gilbert & George’s artworks made its debut on 1 April.
The centre has three exhibitions to house the artists’ creations. For the opening, Gilbert & George are showing ‘The Paradisical Pictures’, an exhibition of 25 psychedelic large-scale mixed media artworks.
Spitalfields “is the centre of the universe”, George told the New York Times. “Some artists feel they have to move to be inspired, but we never felt we needed to,” Gilbert added.
The pair – Gilbert Prousch, 79, and George Passmore, 81 – have been working together for six decades. They aim to keep entry to the museum free as part of their philosophy – “art for all”.
The Gilbert & George Centre will initially be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with additional opening days coming throughout this year.
“Our objective was to invigorate the area’s historic fabric, paying homage to both Gilbert & George’s pioneering spirit and profound reverence for London’s rich and diverse architectural heritage,” SIRS Architects’ co-founder Manuel Irsara told Dezeen.
“The belief that underpins the art of Gilbert & George is ‘art for all’, and the Gilbert & George Centre is an extension of this ethos.”
‘Art for all’
Discussing their new gallery in an interview with the Independent, Gilbert & George said: “We believe that art is the ultimate democratising power. It changes people.
“We like expressing ourselves and now our works will be on display forever. It is about being alive. That is what it is.”
In a recent statement about the venue, Gilbert & George said: “Our art is death, hope, life, fear, sex, money, race, religion, shitty, naked, human, world.”
Images: Gilbert & George Centre
