5 things to know about Gilbert & George: 21ST CENTURY PICTURES

Between October 2025 and January 2026 a number of the artists’ pictures from the last 25 years were presented by the Hayward Gallery.

21ST CENTURY PICTURES featured more than 60 pictures which challenge the social norms and explore the complexities of life, all while centring the human experience.

Whether you are already familiar with the artists, or you’re new to their art, here are five things to know about Gilbert & George. 

Gilbert & George are two people, but one artist

Gilbert & George met in 1967 while studying on the advanced sculpture course at London’s Central Saint Martins School of Art. Gilbert (who grew up in Italy) spoke little English at the time, but the pair were instantly drawn to each other. 

At art school, they chose to merge their individual identities into one artistic entity, and have existed and exhibited as Gilbert & George ever since, blurring the boundaries between art and life, artwork and artist – an approach that continues to define their practice. They have appeared in most of their pictures, sometimes depicted realistically, and at other times mutated, fragmented or distorted.

They take inspiration, and materials, from the streets

Gilbert & George have lived and created art from their home in Spitalfields, East London since 1968 – when they first moved in, the rent was £16 per month!  – and this part of the city continues to be a great source of inspiration for their art. 

As well as taking images of their neighbourhood – such as the graffiti and street signs – they collect urban materials and use them in their large scale, mixed-media pictures that immortalise the transient, discarded and overlooked. 

You can see the influence of their local area in pictures such as TWENTY-EIGHT STREETS, which alphabetically lists street names found under the E1 postcode. And in LUCK where Gilbert & George are surrounded by local newspaper adverts from spiritual healers, and MOOLAH in which their suits are covered in a decorative mix of stickers found on street corners, lampposts and bus stops.

They believe in Art for All

From the beginning of their career, Gilbert & George set out to create art that is direct, emotional and accessible to everyone, exploring themes that affect each of us, and using a bold visual language that embraces provocative imagery to draw attention to the more uncomfortable aspects of modern life.

Their long-standing motto, and grounding for their art is ‘Art for All’ – reflecting their belief that art should speak across boundaries of class, culture and education. As they put it: ‘We only believe in Art for All. We believe that the artist should use a language that can reach people in any part of the world’

Their pictures are huge in both scale and depth

Gilbert & George’s vast, immersive pictures draw on the visual traditions of altarpieces and public murals, while addressing contemporary themes like nationhood, death and faith. The pictures’ monumental scale demands attention and reflects the gravity of the subjects they explore.

In 2003, they began integrating digital technology into their making process, using techniques such as slicing, mirroring and repetition to build densely layered compositions. These compositions are made up of dozens of individual panels – what Gilbert & George call ‘imageries’ – meticulously arranged into expansive grids. There are a total of 1,688 imageries in this Hayward Gallery exhibition alone.

Because moving, and storing, such sizable works is no easy feat, to help plan their exhibitions Gilbert & George make miniature versions of every single picture they’ve ever created. These miniatures, filed carefully in plastic folders, are used to experiment with potential exhibition layouts in specially constructed models of gallery spaces.

Their Art is rich in symbolism

As much as they are committed to making art that is accessible, Gilbert & George also like to create pieces that leave their viewer asking questions. 

Many of their pictures draw on themes of sex, money, race and religion, and feature imagery such as crosses, crucifixes, amulets and horseshoes – as seen together in the SONOFAGOD PICTURES – to encourage questions around the sacred and profane, belief and doubt. 

The natural world is also a recurring motif in their art, appearing as metaphors for cycles of life and decay in pictures like DATE STONES, MAGNOLIA HEADS and FATES. In other pictures that feature the use of jewelled tones, leaves and rich decorative patterns, Gilbert & George transform the language of the streets into something symbolic, heightened and ritualistic, turning the chaos of everyday life into a kind of modern day mythology.