The Whitechapel Gallery announces the latest exhibition for its curatorial partnership with The Gallery at Windsor, Vero Beach, Florida.
Works by internationally renowned twin brothers Gert and Uwe Tobias will go on display from 9 December 2012- 8 April 2013 at the Whitechapel Gallery at Windsor. It is the second of three annual exhibitions curated by the Whitechapel Gallery in partnership with Windsor’s co-founder and Creative Director The Hon. Hilary M. Weston, to coincide with Art Basel Miami Beach. This will be the first exhibition in Florida of the works of the Romanian-born artists.
Born in Transylvania, identical twins Gert and Uwe Tobias paint, sculpt, make traditional woodcut prints and draw with a typewriter. They have worked together since 2001 and when in their studio the artists often finish each other’s work, picking up where the other left off, so their art often evolves from the deeply shared understanding that twins sometimes develop. Their work is full of strange faces and creatures drawn from eastern European folk art and other sources which are combined with the influences of Russian abstract art from the early 20th century.
These artists’ large woodcut prints of vibrant, jewel-like colours will be part of a site specific installation conceived for the unique environment of this gallery, providing a darkly magical counterpoint to The Gallery at Windsor’s tropical, beach-side setting. The starting point for the display is a huge 2 panel 6-metre woodcut on paper on canvas. This contains hybrid figures with comically grotesque features, globular forms often in pale pastel colours and rectangles which bisect the picture plane – motifs are central to the artists’ pictorial language. The display will also include further coloured woodcuts, collages, wall paintings and a unique invitation woodcut created especially for the exhibition as Gert and Uwe Tobias always do for their solo shows.
Coinciding with Art Basel Miami Beach, the opening will create a ‘salon’ like ambience where leading figures from the art world can meet to discuss and debate ideas. At the centre of this is the Windsor International Art Committee, a circle of ambassadors for the project drawn from collectors, gallerists, curators and Windsor members. The Hon. Hilary M. Weston and Iwona Blazwick OBE, Director of the Whitechapel Gallery, and the artists will attend the opening weekend.
Iwona Blazwick OBE, former Director, Whitechapel Gallery, said:
‘The Whitechapel Gallery has always pioneered world-class artists and we are delighted to realise our next exhibition in The Gallery at Windsor. Gert and Uwe Tobias are one of the most fascinating artistic duos working today. Their vividly coloured images, objects and environments evoke a world that is hallucinatory and strange. This new installation promises to bring the dark enchantment of European forests to the gallery in contrast with its beautiful setting in the landscape surrounding it. The Whitechapel Gallery looks forward to presenting these artists for the very first time in Florida at The Gallery at Windsor. ’
We greatly admire the work of Gert & Uwe Tobias, twin brothers influenced by the folkloric art of their native Romania and pleased that the Whitechapel Gallery is featuring them in the second year of their collaboration with The Gallery at Windsor. Windsor has become a destination for important collectors and art lovers alike and we are thrilled to again be presenting such an exciting exhibition this December,’ says The Hon. Hilary M. Weston, philanthropist and former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. Mr and Mrs Weston established the Windsor community, a family oriented residential club community located in Vero Beach, Florida. It spans 416 acres on a barrier island between the Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean.’
Artists Gert and Uwe Tobias said:
‘We are very grateful that, thanks to the Whitechapel Gallery and Mr. and Mrs. Weston, we will have the opportunity to exhibit at the Gallery at Windsor, Florida. Following our projects at the UCLA Hammer in LA and MoMa in New York, 6 and 7 years ago respectively, it will be interesting to show a small yet exquisite overview of our works from the last few years in the US. We’ll be presenting a wide selection of our ‘drawings’ made with a typewriter, plus collages and woodcuts on paper as well as woodcuts on canvas, which is a new technique developed by us in the last year. In terms of themes the exhibition we’ll be developing the ideas that have intrigued us recently, including paraphrases of Dutch still life painting, medieval applied printing and Mannerist printing. We are very much looking forward to the show and the whole experience.’
Visitor Information
Gert and Uwe Tobias, 9 December 2012 – 8 April 2013. The Whitechapel Gallery at Windsor, 3125 Windsor Boulevard, Vero Beach, Florida, 32963. Open to the public from 12.00 pm daily by appointment, closing times vary. Closed on Tuesday. Visitors to call: 001 772 388 4071 to arrange their visit windsorflorida.com/gallery or gallery@windsorflorida.com
