Gilbert & George: The Paradisical Pictures

In the special edition to celebrate the opening of the Gilbert & George Centre in London, writer, novelist and cultural commentator Michael Bracewell explores the paradise behind THE PARADISICAL PICTURES; the thirty-five artworks made by Gilbert & George in 2019. Gilbert & George’s work confounds and rejects all art historical classification or affiliation to other schools or movements in art. As affirmed by THE PARADISICAL PICTURES, there is no formalist, aesthetic or conceptual precedent to the ideology and vision they convey with such intensity. The paintings are fantastical, allegorical, narrative, representational, psychedelic, absurdist, modern yet archaic, surrealist-grotesque, inflected with both tragedy and comedy, filled with pathos, touchingly eloquent of human frailty, age and exhaustion. THE PARADISICAL PICTURES suggest a chapter in a story that has been unfolding before them and will continue beyond them. This ‘paradise’ is not a destination but a stage on a longer journey. It is a dream of paradise and the exploration of an archetype that is both secular and sacred. The special edition brings the fantasy of the paintings to the hardback book. It showcases the original artwork by Gilbert & George, as well as 11 different metallic foils on the cover and a painted red edge.