Gilbert & George Resign from Royal Academy After Exhibition Plans Collapse

Gilbert & George have resigned from London's Royal Academy following a breakdown in communication about a proposed exhibition. The artist duo, who became Royal Academicians in 2017, believed they had secured a show after being told previously that only academicians could exhibit. Earlier this year, they discussed concrete exhibition plans in an Evening Standard interview, but the institution later clarified that not all academicians receive exhibitions. An insider suggested the artists should not have assumed automatic approval. Gilbert Prousch is 76 and George Passmore is 78, making them senior academicians under the RA's rules which limit active membership to those under 75. The pair first met in 1967 while studying sculpture at Saint Martin's college and have since presented themselves as 'living sculptures' through identical dress and daily routines, alongside developing explicit photomontage paintings. They were inducted as a single entity, marking the first time an artist duo joined the RA. The last resignation occurred in 2005 when Pop artist Peter Blake protested the expulsion of Brendan Neiland over alleged financial misconduct—the first such expulsion since 1799.