Gilbert and George talking and singing

Two British artists, Gilbert and George, were invited to return to Australia for the Valentines Day close of the Gallery's exhibition '40 years: Kaldor public art projects'. Gilbert and George were first brought to Australia by John Kaldor in 1973 to present 'The singing sculpture' at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney and at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. They wore tailored suits and painted their hands and faces in bronze metallic paint, singing slowly along to an old musical hall tune of 'Underneath the arches' for five hours at a time, circling like music-box figures. Almost four decades on, Gilbert and George are like old masters of contemporary art, celebrated around the world for their instantly recognisable photo-montage works in vivid colour and enormous scale.