Gilbert & George’s ‘DEATH HOPE LIFE FEAR...’ at The Gilbert & George Centre

The Gilbert & George Centre presents ‘DEATH HOPE LIFE FEAR...’, featuring a collection of eighteen pictures dating from 1984–1998, marking a prolific period in Gilbert & George’s practice.

Taking its title from the significant four-part piece DEATH HOPE LIFE FEAR… (1984), the exhibition presents the subjects surveyed by Gilbert & George as they seek to express the fundamentals of human existence, conveying what they see as the universal truths of the modern condition.

The exhibition will also showcase a selection of works from Gilbert & George’s ‘NEW DEMOCRATIC PICTURES’ (1991) and ‘RUDIMENTARY PICTURES’ (1998).

‘We use colour in different ways. At first, we used red and then we used red and yellow. Now we use more colours, but in each picture, they mean something different. It depends on how we put them to work. They can be symbolic, or they can be atmospheric or emotional. You can say red is like love, or it is like blood, or danger, or fire. It’s used in different ways, not in a simplistic way. It’s more a part of our own language, really – part of our vocabulary.’ – Gilbert & George