Andrew Gilbert obsessively and scrupulously pursues his reflection on conquest and colonial wars through a fierce and bloody portrait gallery. In his drawings, the battles and the wars become the absurd stage of military feats, the unsteady socle upon which the idea of nation is built.
The 39 years old Scottish artist is a true connoisseur of European history as it unfolded both in situ and through the wars of conquests, particularly in Africa and India.
He uses the“feats” of military heroes to draw scenes of open cruelty, and applies the same treatment to the colonial wars of the British empire and the Napoleonic wars.
What Andrew Gilbert offers here is a very personal re-elaboration of traditional historical painting, with a sharp eye and without abandoning his strident humour.
In this shooting gallery, the protagonists of all the conflicts are equal: Zulus, Sudanese, Hottentots and Boers mingle with the victims of wars on the European soil, and the lustre of Napoleonic uniforms stands alongside the flamboyant kota masks, fetishes and macabre trophies.
Andrew Gilbert, who has been living in Berlin for ten years, draws every day, surrounded by a library worthy of a historian. In these books he obsessively searches for the details which we find, in a transfigured form, in his drawings: costume decorations, positions of battalions, quotations, etc.
Andrew Gilbert presents a sharp perspective, with neither limits nor reserves, supported by a trained and referenced trait. In this barbaric world, marked by a brutal symbolism, where savagery is not necessarily where we expect to find it, nothing escapes him. His drawings are extravagant, cruel, documented, and contemporary.
2020
‘The Cave is full of Screaming Parrots’ Galerie Corcia, Paris
‘Britain – The Sick Man of Europe’ Galerie Kai Erdmann, Hamburg
‘The Rise and Fall of Emperor Andrew´s Instant Coffee Plantation’ Kunstverein Friedrichshafen, Friedrichshafen
Sperling Munich, Munich
2019
‘The Royal Botanical Drawings of Emperor Andrew’ Ten Haaf Projects, Amsterdam
´The Fate of Empires` (with Umar Rashid and Mitrikova/Demjanovic) curated by A.Gilbert and C.Nacci, Studio d´Arte Raffaelli, Trento, Italia
`The Fate of Empires´ Cellar Contemporary, Trento , Italia
2018
‘The Glorious Opening of Emperor Andrew’s Museum’ Sperling Munich
Andrew Gilbert solo presentation ‘Sunday Fair, London (Sperling Munich)
”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 BritishEmpire – The Beast Awakens’, Ten Haaf Projects, Amsterdam
’Andrew’s Glorious Occupation of Exotic Bavaria’ Filsers, Mainburg (De)
‘Into the Valley of Death – Rode the Six Hundred’ Galerie Kai Erdmann, Hamburg
2016
‘Solo Presentation’ Sperling, ABC Kunst Messe, Berlin
’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
‘Fiore e Soldate’ 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 , Italy
’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, Power Galerie, NADA Art Cologne
Solo Presentation, Ten Haaf Projects, NADA New York
2011
‘Trophies of the Savages’ Galerie 207 , Prague
‘The Lost art of Convalescense’ with Lucy Stein, Gimpel Fils, London
‘Hallucinatory Mahdis and Aeons’ with David Tibet, National Museum,Berlin
‘The Erotic Adventures of Andrew in the Sudan,1895’ Galerie Andreas Hoehne, Muenchen
‘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, Galerie Eva Bracke, Jam Art Fair, Mallorca
‘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
2020
‘Cape Town Art Fair, Cellar Contemporary, Cape Town
‘The Invented Truth’ Kindl Centre for Contemporary Art, Berlin
2019
‘The Probable Truth’ curated by A.Salimiyan , Vista Gallery, Tehran, Iran
‘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 a Senzano’ Senzano, 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 Galler, 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 in to a bar’ me Collectors room, Berlin
‘Alptraum’ Salon de Liria, Goa, India
2014
‘VIII Bienale d’Arte Giovani’ Museo d’Arte Moderna , Gazoldo degli Ippoliti
‘3 Carrots – 1 Tea Pot – Biber, Braun, Gilbert’ Salon Tom Biber, Berlin
‘A man walks in to 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. Sperrling, 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 , Muenchen
‘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, Berlin
‘Tjorg 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
‘Mathew,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, Muenchen
‘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, Poland
‘Niveaualarm’, 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
‘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 Bahnhofstr.5, Berlin
‘Illegale Kunstwerke auf Papier’, PR 17, Berlin
‘Ghadafi´s Ascension’, Neue Bahnhofstr 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
2017
‘Andrew is Emperor, Brocoli is Holy, Ulundi is Jerusalem’ Kerber Verlag
2015
‘The Life of Baby Afghan Squirrel’ SPERLING/Taube Verlag, Munich, 2015
‘European Tribal Wars’ Bavarian Army Museum . Kettler Verlag’
‘Forte Commune – 1914 – 2014’ Forte Strino Military Museum, Vermiglio
2014
‘Andrew’s Glorious Army crosses the Alps’ published by Studio d’Arte Raffaelli , Trento
2011
‘Andrew Emperor of Africa’ Andrew Gilbert , published by Kerber Verlag
‘Andrew you must kill your enemies before they kill you’ published by Q.H.S.O.I.Q.O.C.M.S, Berlin
2012
‘Andrew Gilbert/Colonial Exhibition – Culloden 1746’ published by power galerie, Hamburg
‘The 17th Lancers in the Anglo Zulu War, 1879’ Possible Press, Berlin
2010
Goethe Institute Artist in Residency, Meetfactory International Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague
2016
Superdeals, Brussels
2010
‘Vezelay to Ulundi – from the First Crusade to the Anglo Zulu War’
Camberwell College of Art, London
2011
‘Artists who drink alcohol should be killed’ Academy for Applied Arts. Prague
2013
‘Holy Brocoli and North European Primtivism’ Edinburgh College of Art
2017
‘The Beauty of Difference – representations of the Exotic Enemy in historical and contemporary propaganda’ Schloss Lieberose / Heinrich Bohl Stiftung
2018
‘The eternal spirit of Isandlwana’ Kunst Akademie Karsruhe
2019
‘Expressionism in the age of Leek Phones and Drone Strikes’ Stiftung Van de Loo , Munich