Your Military Museums will fade and rot, Your hallowed Battlefields will be dug up to build Shopping Malls and the Monuments to Your Glorious Past torn down by foreign Occupying Forces...
Andrew Gilbert (1980, Edinburgh) in his drawings and installations combines his studies of Primitivism in Modern Art, military history and a rich personal language of symbols and characters (such as “Andrew Emperor of Africa” or “Holy Brocoli”). He examines the representations of exotic cliches, and propaganda techniques used to demonize the eternal foreign Other. His work refers to the Western “Colonial Exhibitions”, military museums dioramas and ethnographic museums presentations, and draws parallels between the 19th Century Imperial conquests and present day Military Occupations. In doing so he questions who is really “primitive” and critiques the Western Historical narrative and contemporary nostalgia for Empire that led to, for example, Brexit and the rise of nationalism across Europe today. All of this is combined with absurdist humour and often grotesque violence. Andrew Gilbert, who currently lives and works in Berlin, has visited four times in recent years South Africa to study the battlefields of the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War, the Boer War and the military campaigns of Shaka Zulu. The artist exhibited his works in several international (Europe, South Africa, Japan) private and public venues, as the London Tate Modern.
Education
1997 - 2002: M.A: (Hons) Fine Art - University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh College of Art
Solo Exhibitions (selection)
2020
Andrew Gilbert - The Rise and Fall of Emperor Andrew's Instant Coffee Plantation, Kunstverein Friedrichshafen, Friedrichshafen, German
2019
The Royal Botanical Drawings of Emperor Andrew, Ten Haaf Projects, Amsterdam
2018
The Glorious Opening of Emperor Andrew's Museum, Sperling, Munich
Andrew Gilbert solo presentation, Sunday Fair, London, with Sperling Und willst du nicht mein Brueder sein, so schlag ich dir den Schaedel ein - with Martin Neumeier, Botschaft, Berlin
2017
Andrew Gilbert and Sam Durant, Last Tango, Zurich
The Sun Will Never Set on the British Empire - The Beast Awakens, Ten Haaf Projects, Amsterdam
Andrew's Glorious Occupation of Exotic Bavaria, Filsers, Mainburg
Into the Valley of Death - Rode the Six Hundred, Galerie Kai Erdmann, Hamburg
2016
Solo Presentation, ABC Kunst Messe, Berlin, with Sperling Shaka Zulu the Musical - Directed by Andrew, Sperling, Munich Ulundi Is Jerusalem Andrew Is Emperor Brocoli Is Holy, Overbeck - Gesellschaft Museum / St Petri Kirche, Luebeck
Emperor Andrew Meets His Waterloo, Superdeals, Brussels
2015
Trophies of the Savages - Idols of Civilisation, Blank Projects, Cape Town, South Africa
The Life of Baby Afghan Squirrel, Sperling, Munich
European Tribal War Idols, Waterloo 1815, Gallery Polad - Hardouin, Paris Je suis...Brocoli!, Jagla Ausstellungsraum, Koeln
Andrew's Exotic and Erotic Massage Parlour, Sightfenster, Koeln
2014
Fiori e Soldati - with M. Galliani, Studio d'Arte Raffaelli, Trento Sacred Soil and Bloody Ground, Galerie Kai Erdmann, Hamburg Forte Comune 1914/2014 - with Michelangelo Galliani, Forte Strino Military Museum, Vermiglio
Andrew Gilbert at Settlement Projects, Leith Late 14, Edinburgh The Glorious Return of Emperor Andrew, Summerhall, Edinburgh
2013
Andrew's Glorious Army Crosses the Alps, Studio d'Arte Raffaelli, Trento The Battle of Blood River, Ten Haaf Projects, Amsterdam
Andrew Gilbert and Akiyoshi Mishima, Nanzuka, Tokyo
Les Maitres Fous - Starring Andrew and Emil Nolde, Gallery Polad - Hardouin, Paris
North European Primitivism - Andrew, Gislerbertus, Nolde, Rogier van der Weyden, Galerie Andreas Hoehne, Munich
2012
Colonial Exhibition – Culloden 1746, Power Galerie, Hamburg
The Sacred Ambush Is Full of the Sound of Parrots Screaming’ - with Anna Parkina, SVIT,Prague
Solo Presentation, NADA Art, Cologne, with Power Galerie
Solo Presentation, NADA, New York, with Ten Haaf Projects
2011
Trophies of the Savages, Galerie 207, Prague
The Lost Art of Convalescence - with Lucy Stein, Gimpel Fils, London
Hallucinatory Mahdis and Aeons - with David Tibet, Nationalmuseum, Berlin
The Erotic Adventures of Andrew in the Sudan,1895, Galerie Andreas Hoehne, Munich
Der Heiliger Krieg - with Tomas Roubal, Kino Kytka, Prague
Austerlitz – The Fate of Empires,Ten Haaf Projects, Amsterdam
Andrew Emperor of Africa, Galerie Polad - Hardouin, Paris
2010
Andrew’s Death in Afghanistan, 1842, Power Galerie, Hamburg
Veronika Landa and Andrew Gilbert, MeetFactory International Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague
Andrew’s Honeymoon in India,1857, Gallery Kabinet T, Zlin, Czech Republic Cut out Her Eyes – Cut off His Penis - with Lucy Stein, Forgotten Bar, Berlin
2009
The Zulu Queen Stood as Jerusalem Fell, Ten Haaf Projects, Amsterdam
2008
Black Magic White Power, Galerie Andreas Hoehne, Munich
Fix Bayonets and Die Like British Soldiers Die!, Galerie Eva Bracke, Berlin
2007
Solo Presentation, Jam Art Fair, Mallorca, with Galerie Eva Bracke To Wipe the Blade-Zulu, Galerie Eva Bracke, Berlin
2006
Vezalay to Ulundi, Galerie Na Bydilku, Brno, Czech Republic
2005
The Fall of the Pagan Idols, curated by Caroline Nathusius, Kjubh Kunstverein, Köln
The Dance around the Golden Calves, Galerie Antik, Berlin
2004
The Tempation of John Knox, Forever and a Day Buero, Berlin Vezelay to Jerusalem, Galerie Na Bydilku, Brno, Czech Republic
2003
Deutsch Afrikanische Freundschaft, Autocenter, Berlin
The False Miracles of Mohammed, Galerie Nomadenoase, Hamburg
Group Exhibitions (selection)
2023
Alptraum, Polarraum, Hamburg, Germany
Pop Life, Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2022
Beyond Homogeneity, Syker Vorwerk - Zentrum für zeitgenössische Kunst, Syke, Germany
2021
Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Galerie Peter Gaugy, Vienna, Austria
Salon der Gegenwart 2021, salondergegenwart, Hamburg, Germany
2019
The Fate of Empires, Studio d’Arte Raffaelli + Cellar Contemporary, Trento
Deset - Works from the Richard Adam Collection, The House of the Arts Ostrava, Ostrava, CZ
Another Country Part 4, Thurso City Gallery, Thurso, Scotland
Another Country Part 5, Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, Inverness, Scotland
What the Night Brings, Phantom Projects Contemporary, Ateliers La Bitche, Nantes, France
2018
Another Country Part 3, City Arts Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland
Another Country Part 1, St John's University Art Center, Minnesota, U.S.A En quete de Graal, Ceres Franco Collection Museum, Montolieu, France Group Exhibition, Galerie Kai Erdmann, Hamburg
Das Raubkunstkabinett, Theater Acker Stadt Palast, Berlin
Save PR17, PR17, Berlin
Val di Non. Sguardi sulla Grande Guerra, Casa De Gentili, San Zeno, Italia
2017
The Beauty of Difference, Rohkunstbau 2017, Lieberose Castle, Lieberose
Takes Two to Tango, Sperling, Munich
Berlin Klondyke, UGM Studio, Maribor, Slovenia
New Adventures of Vexillogoly - Part 3, Kunstverein Amrum
2016
Artist and Empire, National Gallery of Singapore, Singapore
Drawing on Drawing, Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh
Bootleg Trienalle, Atlantic House, Cape Town, South Africa
Post Colonial Contemporary, curated by John Zarobell, Incline Gallery, San Francisco
2015
Artist and Empire, Tate Britain, London, England
European Tribal Wars - with D. Wood and S. Kaminiski, Bavarian Army Museum, Ingolstadt
State of Mankind, Draw a Line, Berlin
Alptraum, Visual Voice Gallery, Montreal Canada
Salon International de Bobanisme, Salon Boban Andjelkovic, Munich House of Pain, curated by Veit Loers, Galerie Petra Martinetz, Koeln Berlin Klondyke, Salon Dahlmann, Berlin
Tales of Darkness, Sunaparanta, Goa Centre for Arts, India
PigDogandMonkeyfestos, curated by S.Doyle and M.Mallinson, Phoenix Gallery, Exeter, England
A Man Walks into a Bar, Me Collectors Room, Berlin
Alptraum, Salon de Liria, Goa, India
2014
VIII Bienale d'Arte Giovani, MAM, Gazoldo degli Ippoliti
3 Carrots - 1 Tea Pot - Biber, Braun, Gilbert' Salon, Tom Biber, Berlin
A Man Walks into a Bar, Mainsburg
Seemed like a Good Idea at the Time, Sperling, Munich
In Furs, Kuenstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin
PigDogandMonkeyfestos, curated by S. Doyle and M. Mallinson, Airspace Gallery, Stoke on Trent, England
Alptraum, UGM Maribor Art Gallery, Maribor, Slovenia
Hauptstadt, Galerie Kai Erdmann, Berlin
Half Devil Half Child, Blank Projects, Cape Town, South Africa
2013
SVIT, Svit Praha, Praha
Lord of the Flies, Wannieck Gallery of Modern Art, Brno
Apokalyptik als Wiederstand - Collection Tom Biber, Bavarian Army Museum, Ingolstadt
Imaginaere Loesungen - part 1, by F. Hufnagel, Kosmetik Salon, Berlin
The Hecklers, curated by C. Lewisohn, The New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall, England
Dawn of the Hermetics - part 2, Wonderloch Kellerland, Berlin
The Best Haircuts in History, curated by C. Lewisohn, We are Cuts, London Visionen, Marta Heford, Herford
1.per.sing., curated by Johannes Sperling, b – 05, Montabaur
Hamburger Bahnhof, curated by O. Zybok, Power Galerie, Hamburg
Images for Images - Artists for Tichy - Tichy for Artists, curated by Zdenek Felix, GASK Gallery of central Bohemia, Czech Republic
The Beautyful Ones, curated by Storm Janse van Rensburg, Nolan Judin, Berlin
Waar ken ick u van?, LUMC Gallery, Leiden
Berlin – Klondyke, Werkschauhalle, Leipzig
Das Allerletze Prof. Winkler Stipendium, Kunstverein Weyden
The Legend of the Shelves, Autocenter, Berlin
Dawn of the Hermetics, Kosmetiksalon, Berlin
Primitve Cabaret – A spiritual Voodoo confrontation, Polad – Hardouin, Paris
2012
LAmerika-China, Phoenixhalle, Hamburg
Fliegen, Kuenstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin
Home Is where the Peppers Grow, Autocenter, Berlin
Convoi Berlin, curated by J. Sperling, Biksady Gallery, Budapest
Berlin–Klondyke, Neuer Pfannenhofener Kunstverein
Thingsplace, by John Brown, Superclub, Edinburgh
L’amour herouiqe, Muba Eugene Leroy, Tourcoing
Necessarily True, Garage, Rotterdam
Berlin Status (1), Kuenstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin
The International Bongo Bongo Brigade – The Hair in the Cannibal-Prophetic Soup of Dr Emil Holub, NTK Gallery, Prague
A Votre Decharge, Chateau de Servieres, Marseille
2011
Berlin Klondyke, L.A. Art Centre, Los Angeles
Gastspiel Paris Munich Teil 2, Galerie Van de Loo Projekte, Munich
Verbrechen und Bild, Kuenstlerverein Walkmuehle
The Magic Sexy Temple of Wonderloch, Wonderloch Kellerland, Berlin
Dormition, Contra Gallery, Slovenia
Rosskur und Stalldrang bei den Wolfs, Atetier N.A. Wolf, Berlin
Berlin Klondike 2011, The Odd Gallery, Dawson City, Canada
Pure Freude, curated by Jonny Mullen, Nationalmuseum, Berlin
Moraltarantula 5, Hamburg
Charlottenburg Diktator, curated by C. Malycha, Babbettes Bar, Berlin Lady Paranoia and Mr Killer, Gallery Polad – Hardouin, Paris
The International Bongo Bongo Brigade Meet the Haffners, Haffner Galerie, Innsbruck
The Raising of Lazarus, Nationalmuseum, Berlin
Best of Invites, Wonderloch Kellerland, Berlin
Flashback, Gallery Polad – Hardouin, Paris
2010
Wherever They Fell, Wilkinson Gallery, curated by Anna Parkina, London
Powerhouse, Power Galerie, Hamburg
Transcendenz ink, Autocenter, Berlin
Richtigen Zeit am Richtigen Ort, curated by C. Nathusius, Temporary Gallery, Cologne
White Stallions, Fischer und Fischer Galerie, Berlin
Moraltarantula 4, Hamburg
Schwarzgold, Schloss Beesenstedt, Beesenstedt bei Halle
Zipor, Galerie Lichtpunk – Ambacher Contemporary, Munich Lontana, Centre for Contemporary Art, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
International Bongo Bongo Brigade, curated by the Holy Brocoli from India, MeetFactory, Prague
International Bongo Bongo Brigade – Queen Loser, Silwex House, London Paranoid, De Nederlandische Cacao Fabrik, Helmond, Netherlands Easy Jetsetters, curated by Lucy Stein, Forgotten Bar, Berlin
6th Biennale for Contemporary Art, Salle des Calandres, Eragny, France
Bushwick Schlacht, Fortress of Solitude, New York
Domestic Violence, Studio N.A. Wolff, Berlin
Early Works, Wonderloch Kellerland, Berlin
The Product of Exchange, Sudhaus, Berlin/Texas Firehouse, New York
Obscene, Wiensalon, Berlin
Riders, Gallery Polad – Hardouin, Paris
2009
Der Muede Tod, Kai 10 Raum fuer Kunst, Dusseldorf Zeigen, Temporary Kunsthalle Berlin, Berlin
Les portes du Paradis, Galerie Eva Bracke, Berlin
Free Nelson Mandela, Spor Klublu, Berlin
George Says: No Martini, No Party, Apartement, Berlin Am Anfang war das Ende, Galerie in Ballhaus Ost, BerlinTjorg Douglas Beer presents...,Forgotten Bar, Berlin Friendly Fire, PR17, Berlin
Transcendendenz Ink, Forgotten Bar, Berlin Moraltarantula II, Hamburg
Borderline Pleasures, Galerie Michael Janssen, Berlin The lovers of Lutz Braun, Galerie Antik, Berlin
2008
Moving Walls, Museum of New Art, Detroit
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, WhitelacesLivingRoom Gallery, Berlin A4 Editions, Five Years Gallery, London
Sovereign European Art Prize Exhibition, Somerset House, London
Oil Prices Reach Sky High, Ferenbalm Gurbue Station, Karlsruhe Ecstatic Stairs, Die Aenderei, Munich
Porridge Wogs, Five Years Gallery, curated by Cedar Lewisohn, London
Madonna und Wir, curated by C. Nathusius, Galerie Christian Nagel, Berlin
Eins zu Eins Ruegen, Park Gut Kartzitz, Ruegen
2007
Autocenter 1, Autocenter, Berlin
Ben Cottrell, Andrew Gilbert, Andreas Hofer, Forever and a day Buero, Berlin
Irresistible Magazine, curated by Cedar Lewisohn, Tate Modern, London
Return to Forever, Forever and a day buero, Berlin
La Boum III, Breslau / Warschau, PolandNiveaualarm, Kunstraum Innsbruck, Austria
Ketzer und Co. The Golden City, Galerie Jiri Svestka, Prague
2006
Bellevue, curated by C. Nathusius, Galerie Eva Winkeler, Frankfurt La Boum II, Galerie Sie und Höke, Düsseldorf
Psycho. Zeitgenössiche Positionen zwischen Seelenheil und Apokalypse, Kunstverein Mönchengladbach
Ketzer und Co, Haus der Kunst, Brno, Czech Republic
Horizont, Forever and a Day Büro, Kunsthaus Bethanien Berlin
2005
Schwarz, Brot, Gold, Kunstverein Oldenburg
Viewing Club, Berlin/Hamburg /London
Palace of the Zulu-Queen, Kunsthalle Pankow, Berlin Professor Winkler Stipendium, Berlin
2004
Commando Henry Ford, Neuro Cafe, Stuttgart
Works on Paper, Forever and a Day Büro, Berlin
The Banana Tree, with A. Hofer, A. Sourkova, Neue Bahnhofstrasse 5, Berlin
2003
Heckel und seine drei Scheisshaufen, with A. Butzer and M. Selg Neue Bahnhofstrasse 5, Berlin
Illegale Kunstwerke auf Papier, PR 17, Berlin
Ghadafi ́s Ascension, Neue Bahnhofstrasse 5, Berlin
2002
Friede, Freude, Freiheit, Galerie Maschenmode/Guido Baudach, Berlin
Express, curated by O. Lanz, Schoenhauser Allee, Berlin
Northern Exposure, Isle of Uist Art Center, Scotland
Publications
Andrew Is Emperor, Brocoli Is Holy, Ulundi Is Jerusalem, Kerber Verlag, 2017
The Life of Baby Afghan Squirrel, SPERLING / Taube Verlag, Munich,2015
European Tribal Wars, Bavarian Army Museum. Kettler Verlag, 2015
Forte Comune - 1914 – 2014, Forte Strino Military Museum, Vermiglio, 2014
Andrew's Glorious Army Crosses the Alps, Studio d'Arte Raffaelli, Trento, 2013
Andrew Gilbert / Colonial Exhibition – Culloden 1746, Power Galerie, Hamburg, 2012
Andrew Emperor of Africa, Kerber Verlag, 2011
Andrew You Must Kill Your Enemies before They Kill You, Q.H.S.O.I.Q.O.C.M.S., Berlin, 2011
Andrew Gilbert / Colonial Exhibition – Culloden 1746, Power Galerie, Hamburg, 2012
The 17th Lancers in the Anglo Zulu War, 1879, Possible Press, Berlin
Residencies
2016
Superdeals , Brussels
2010
Goethe Institute Artist in Residency, Meetfactory International Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague
Lectures
2017
The Beauty of Difference. Representations of the Exotic Enemy in historical and contemporary propaganda, Schloss Lieberose / Heinrich Bohl Stiftung
2013
Holy Brocoli and North European Primtivism, Edinburgh College of Art
2011
Artists Who Drink Alcohol Should Be Killed, Academy for Applied Arts, Prague
2010
Vezelay to Ulundi – from the First Crusade to the Anglo Zulu War, Camberwell College of Art, London
Interviews, Posted on 12/05/2020
#ArtistWor(l)d: 5 questions to Umar Rashid and Andrew Gilbert
Read moreEvents, Posted on 08/02/2020
For the second time we’ll be present in the art fair with a booth which features three sections, in collaboration with Studio d’Arte Raffaelli.
Read moreEvents, Posted on 08/04/2019
On Thursday, April 4, Cellar Contemporary and Studio d’Arte Raffaelli inaugurate the exhibition whose protagonists are Andrew Gilbert, Jarmila Mitríková & Dávid Demjanovič and Umar Rashid (Frohawk Two Feathers).
Read more© 2024
Cellar Contemporary
by Davide Raffaelli
P.IVA: 02438320224