Bob and Roberta Smith is the adopted persona of the artist Patrick Brill. Born in London in 1963, he studied Fine Art at the University of Reading and later at Goldsmiths College, London. Bob and Roberta Smith lives and works in London.

Smith’s work spans a variety of genres; painting, performance, music and even cookery and Do-It-Yourself, infused with a subversive humour. By combining such diverse media with the language styles of alternative protest movements, folk and punk, Bob and Roberta Smith attempts to challenge established authorities and values, and encourage creativity in people. Many past projects and performances have involved participatory elements, sharing similarities with the Fluxus movement of the 1960s.

In 2008, a sculpture by Bob and Roberta Smith was short-listed for the Fourth Plinth competition in Trafalgar Square, London.

Made in Britain Contemporary Art from the British Council Collection 1980-2010, China federation of Literary and Art Circles Publishing Corporation 2010. ISBN 978-7-5059-7014-4.

bobandrobertasmith.co.uk

Glossary

  • Contemporary

    Existing or coming into being at the same period; of today or of the present. The term that designates art being made today.

  • Painting

    Work of art made with paint on a surface. Often the surface, also called a support, is a tightly stretched piece of canvas, paper or a wooden panel. Painting involves a wide range of techniques and materials, along with the artist's intellectual concerns effecting the content of a work.

  • Sculpture

    A three-dimensional work of art. Such works may be carved, modelled, constructed, or cast. Sculptures can also be described as assemblage, in the round, relief, and made in a huge variety of media. Contemporary practice also includes live elements, as in Gilbert & George 'Living Sculpture' as well as broadcast work, radio or sound sculpture.

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