Meeting Gilbert and George

The Wolverhampton University MA show was at New Art Gallery Walsall this year, I went along to see how it looked in a professional venue and I must say it made all the difference. The show used to be at the University Art Block and in the last few years had moved to Wolverhampton Art Gallery, that had given it a boost in itself but putting it in NAG Walsall really elevated it. I spoke to the Gallery Curator Deb Robinson about it and she said it was a new relationship they were trying to develop, it makes sense, Wolverhampton is the closest University to Walsall and has a campus in Walsall. Galleries like NAG like to develop relationships with artists over years before they give them shows so this was an ideal situation for the artists showing and the gallery, it should enable Walsall and Wolverhampton Artists a better chance of succeeding.

I had forgotten that Gilbert and George were going to be at the exhibition but as soon as I got to the 3rd floor I saw them, although dressed in smart suits, they somehow stood out and a presence radiated from them. Popular with a number of people it wasn’t easy to pick the right time to try and meet them. Having spent many years at Art Collage I was aware of them from an early age, they must have been working artists for the whole of my lifetime so it was hard for me not to be aware of them. And if their work is in a show it is impossible not to see it and be slightly in awe at it’s size and colour. So it was difficult not to be in awe of them.

I eventually got close enough to ask then for a photo, they had steely faces throughout their interactions with other people so I expected them to be stern but they were lovely and very amenable. I had ideas of telling them how I enjoyed their work but I became star struck and just said thank you and left them to enjoy themselves.

Andrew Tift, Walsall resident and winner of the BP Portrait Prize told me that they were staying at the Premier Inn and this seemed like a performance in it’s self. I hope they made a film in their little room.