Home

  • ON VIEW

Biography

1952 Born on Guernsey, Channel Islands, GB
1976 Moved to London to dedicate himself to his art. As a painter and poet he was self-taught. Shared a studio with Andrew Heard.
1979 Meets Gilbert & George who called him their favourite poet. He became one of their models and appeared as the angry young man in the film The World of Gilbert & George (1981)
1984 Gilbert & George published his first volume of poetry Inevitable, in an edition of 1000 signed and numbered copies.
1985 Visits New York
1986 Contributed regularly to "Out" newspaper, with a monthly column of poems. He also contributed to "Square Peg", "The Fred", "Our Wonderful Culture", "The Manipulator", and other magazines. His poetry was performed frequently by the group The Robilliards, Stephen Chamberlain, and Mental Mary who put Robilliard’ s texts into song.
1987 Started sending out monthly postcads of poetry by direct mail, in an edition of 300, published by Paul Conran and later by Birch & Conran Fine Art, London
1988 Died in London



Exhibitions (Selection)

2014 David Robillard: The Yes No Quality of Dreams, Institute for Contemporary Arts, London
Keywords: Art, Society and Culture in 1980's Britain, Tate Liverpool
2013 David Robilliard, Elisa Platteau, Bruxelles
David Robilliard: Paintings, Drawings and poems, Rob Tufnell, London
2011 Play Van Abbe - Part 4, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (group)
2009 In & Out of Amsterdam, The Museum of Modern Art, New York [group show]
Christian Holstad/David Robilliard, Aurel Scheibler/ ScheiblerMitte, Berlin
2007/08 Art & project Bulletin: 1968 - 1989, Specific Object, David Platzker, New York [group show]
2004 ISONETHINGBETTERTHANANOTHER, Aurel Scheibler, Köln
Joyce in Art, Royal Hibernian Academy, Gallagher Gallery, Dublin [group show]
2002 Whisper, 11 Jahre Ausstellungen, Galerie Aurel Scheibler, Cologne [group show]
2000 You Know, Galerie Aurel Scheibler, Cologne [solo show]
1998 There's No Bits Of Fluff On My Stuff, Cornerhouse, Manchester [solo show]
Ideal und Wirklichkeit. Das Bild des Körpers in der Kunst des XX. Jahrhunderts, Rupertinum, Salzburg [group show]
1993 A Roomful of Hungry Looks/ Een ruimte vol hongerige blikken, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam [solo show; catalogue raisonné of the paintings, text: Marja Bloem, Leo Burley, Rudi Fuchs, Gilbert & George; concurrent with the publication by Gilbert & George of a collection of poetry Life Isn’t Good, It’s Excellent]
1992 James Van Damme Gallery, Antwerp [solo show]
Figürliche Zeichnung. Ironie-Selbstdarstellung-Erfindung-Realität., Kunstverein Heilbronn [Works on paper; group show]
Life Isn’t Good, It’s Excellent, Foyer Galleries, Royal Festival Hall, London [solo show; folder, text: Rudi Fuchs, John Gill]
1991 Do It Like You Care, Friedman-Guinness Gallery, Frankfurt am Main [solo show of drawings]
The Cat’s Pyjamas, Watermans Art Centre, Brentford, Middlesex [solo show; publication of a collection of poetry The Cat’s Pyjamas]
1990 Jessica Diamond, Douglas LaTourette, Felix Gonzaléz-Torrés, David Robilliard, Tom Cugliani Gallery, New York
The British Art Show 1990, McLellan Galleries, Glasgow; Leeds City Art Gallery, Leeds; Hayward Gallery, London [Travelling group show, catalogue, text: David Ward, Caroline Collier,
Andrew Nairne]
Hirschl & Adler Modern, New York [catalogue, text: John Yau, Gilbert & George]
1989 Life Isn’t Good, It’s Excellent, Friedman-Guinness Gallery, Frankfurt am Main [retrospective]
1988 Angela Flowers Gallery, London [solo show, part of series Artist of the Day]
1987 Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, [solo show; publication of his second book of poetry Swallowing Helmets]
Young Contemporaries, Birch & Conran Fine Art, London [group show]
Galerie Hufkens-Noirhomme, Bruxelles [solo show]
Dance For Your Auntie, My Little Transplantee, Friedman-Guinness Gallery, Heidelberg [solo show]
1986 Art & Project, Amsterdam [together with Andrew Heard]
Jennifer Binnie, Mary Lemley, Gratson Perry, David Robilliard, Third International Contemporary Art Fair, Olympia, London
David Robilliard, James Birch Fine Art, London
David Robilliard,L’Escargot Restaurant, London
1985 Christmas Group Exhibition, James Birch Fine Art, London
1984 Inevitable, Stephen Bartley Gallery, London [solo exhibition of drawings on the occasion of the publication of Inevitable, his first book of poetry published by Gilbert & George]



Poetry Publications by David Robilliard


1993 Life Isn’t Good, It’s Excellent, published by Gilbert & George, London
1992 Waiting for Nothing, published by The Bad Press, Manchester
1991 The Cat’s Pyjamas, published by The Bad Press, Manchester
1990 Baby Lies Truthfully, published by Inandout Press, New York - Rome (book)
1988 Bulletin 151, published by Art & Project, Amsterdam, May 15
The Pink Paper, September
1987/88 Our Wonderful Culture, published by Hercules Fischerman, Winter, p. 2
1987 A Box of Poems, collection of Postcards, published by Bircher & Conran Fine Art, London
Swallowing Helme, in: The Manipulator, Düsseldorf, November
David Robilliard, in: Interview, September 1987
Swallowing Helmets, published by Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (book)
Our Wonderful Culture, published by Fischerman Studio, London, July, p. 7; 15
1986 Out, February, April, May
Poetic, in: Sqare Peg, December
Inevitable, in: The Manipulator, Düsseldorf, December
David Robilliard & Andrew Heard, in: Eating Out, August
Out – The National Gay, May
Bulletin 146, published by Art & Project, Amsterdam, February 2
1985 David Robilliard (Inevitable), in: Out – The National Gay, July/August/October/December
From the Garret, in: Guernsey Vendor, October 3
David Robilliard, in: Square Peg
1984 Inevitable, published by Gilbert & George (book)