Loading..."The Paintings" (with Us in the Nature)
Gilbert & George 1943
Date
1971
Material
Oil on canvas
Extent
6 doeken: 230 × 320 cm, 12 doeken: 230 × 160 cm
Type
Paintings
Identifier
KM 131.609
Source
Acquired with support from the BankGiro Lottery, the National Acquisition Fund of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Mondriaan Foundation, the Rembrandt Association and its Titus Fund, the SNS REAAL Fund and the VSB Fund
The only paintings
Gilbert & George, always properly dressed in a suit, operate exclusively as a duo and can be seen together in performances, videos, films and artist’s books. In the winter of 1971 they create this series of six large triptychs of themselves, the only paintings in their oeuvre.
Statement
In ‘The Paintings’ (with Us in the Nature) they share with the observer their experiences of their stay in the countryside in the summer of 1970. The artists depict themselves in various poses in a lush, typically English landscape. Furthermore, they provide their ‘romantic sad, beautiful sculpture’ with a statement.
Experience of nature
‘This sculpture we have lived. It was the summer of 1970. Then came the winter and we recreated these senses. (…) Whilst we enjoyed painting, our greatest pleasure was in seeing the sculpture coming back.’ With the necessary irony, Gilbert & George attempt to recreate their experience of nature, but simultaneously acknowledge that this is actually impossible.
