BERLIN.- As the international tour of the last
Gilbert & George retrospective (2007–2009) did not include Berlin, Arndt
& Partner are now presenting a solo exhibition of the celebrity artist duo
in its gallery rooms behind the Hamburger Bahnhof. It is the
first Gilbert & George solo show in Berlin for 14 years. The exhibition
features a selection of 20 large-scale pieces from the Jack Freak Pictures, the
largest Gilbert & George group of pictures to date. The thrust of
the content is given by the colors and shapes of the Union Jack flag that
dominate the bulk of the pictures as well as the recurring motive of medals,
emblems and trees. In the Jack Freak Pictures the artist duo explores aspects of
nationhood and of the sentient individual in the nets of society. In his essay
published in the catalogue accompanying the exhibition the British writer
Michael Bracewell describes these pictures as “the most iconic, philosophically
astute and visually violent works that Gilbert & George have ever
created…” On view 16 June through 18 September,
2009.