Gilbert & George (XX-XXI) - Naked

Gilbert & George — Naked – 2023 – Original Poster for The Gilbert & George Centre, London
Opening‑era house poster in the duo’s confrontational grid vernacular | Hand signed by the artists |
| Offset lithograph | 84.1 × 59.4 cm | United Kingdom

Introduction
An austere black grid bisects a sky‑blue field, bracketed by blazing red header and footer—a visual language Gilbert & George have honed since the 1970s to fuse stained‑glass solemnity with billboard punch. Within the lattice, a totemic organic column anchors mirrored male nudes in white briefs; two monumental cropped heads thrust scarlet tongues toward the centerline. The single‑word title NAKED, set in hard green caps, reads as both label and provocation, while the East End venue credit asserts the duo’s rootedness in London’s streets.

Issued around the launch of The Gilbert & George Centre in Spitalfields, this A1 house poster distills the artists’ serial symmetry, photographic montage, and deadpan text into a public‑facing identity piece. This example is hand‑signed in bold white at lower right, a striking gesture against the saturated palette that elevates it from ephemera to collectible print.

Why It Matters
As an early, Centre‑era graphic, Naked captures a pivot where studio “Pictures” meet institutional branding—an artifact of the artists’ long project to collapse art and life, gallery and pavement. Hand‑signed copies are scarcer than shop or window pulls and are sought by collectors across contemporary British art, conceptual photography, and post‑punk graphic design. The poster’s modular grid, mirrored poses, and slogan economy connect it to the broader lineage of British conceptualism and mass‑media appropriation, while its pristine survival counters the intended short‑term use of A1 street posters—making it both launch document and canonical image.

Poster Details
- Year: 2023
- Country: United Kingdom
- Size: 84.1 × 59.4 cm
- Format: A1
- Studio / Publisher: The Gilbert & George Centre, London
- Designer: Gilbert & George (Hand signed)

Condition
As new: crisp paper, vivid inks, no folds or tears noted; a clean, presentable hand‑signed example. Shipped safely rolled in a sturdy tube, ideal for archival framing.