(1952 - 1988)
In the last decade of his life, the work of artist and poet, Robilliard was championed by Gilbert and George who after their first meeting in 1979, invited him to model for them and also to source other models for their work. Gilbert and George encouraged Robilliard to incorporate images with his poetry, and in 1984, they published his first poetry volume, Inevitable, which was accompanied by a display of his drawings that he had initially only intended as a backdrop. To promote the event, Gilbert and George described the artist’s work as ‘the new master of the modern person. Looking, thinking, feeling, seeing, bitching – he brilliantly encapsulates the 'Existers' spirit of our time.’ Robilliard was diagnosed with HIV in 1988 - after his death that year, in their commemoration of his work, Gilbert and George remembered ‘His truthfulness, sadness, desperation and love of people gave his work a brilliance and beauty that stands out a mile.’David Robilliard was included posthumously in The British Art Show III in 1990. A major retrospective exhibition took place at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in1993, and a solo exhibition of paintings, David Robilliard: The Yes No Quality of Dreams was presented at the ICA in 2014, including this work. Robilliard’s paintings and drawings are already represented in a number of public collections, including the Arts Council, the Stedelijk and Tate.
