Lehmann Maupin is pleased to present a group of seminal films and video sculptures by pioneering artists Gilbert & George. Among the longest-enduring artist duos, they have had sustained influence on the contemporary art world for the past fifty years. The exhibition Films and Video Sculptures, 1972-1981 will be shown in the gallery’s 201 Chrystie Street location and represents an integral, transitional link between the artists’ early art and their later, more widely known large-scale pictures. This exhibition is the artists’ fifth show with Lehmann Maupin.

At the beginning of their art-life, Gilbert & George developed their signature form of “Living Sculpture,” embodying a sense of “being” over “doing” and upending traditional modes of art practice. With their individual identities subsumed into this vision of animate sculpture, the artists became representations of the universal human condition, a central theme in their work. Their belief in “Art for All”—that art should strive for a meaningful connection to the viewer’s everyday life, rather than a connection that can only be understood through formal arts education—infuses their art with a democratic vigor and remains a vital aspect of their vision to this day.