ROBBIE WILLIAMS TO LAUNCH SOTHEBY’S EXHIBITION OF HIS PAINTINGS
He’s loving easles instead, this May
Take that, art world, because Robbie Williams is launching his first public exhibition of paintings at Sotheby’s next month.
It seems he's not just passionate about aliens, tribal tattoos and making audiences sing his songs - Robbie is also a keen art fan.
The prestigious auction house recently sold two Banksy works from his extensive collection for £7.7 million and are having him back in May for Black and White Paintings.
The exhibition will feature 14 black and white paintings created in partnership with his interior designer friend Ed Godrich, as well as curated pieces by artists who inspire them both, including Grayson Perry and Damien Hirst.
Robbie said: “Art is really whatever you want it to be. Just like music, it has the ability to soothe and provide company when you’re lonely.
"Art and music have punctuated my ups and downs, but more importantly they both have the power to change how I feel in a moment.”
Williams and Godrich have been painting together for five years and say their art owes a huge debt to Nineties rave culture.
The singer started collecting art once he’d amassed enough dosh from the success of Angels, and likens his new art partnership to being in a band, explaining: "In music terms, Ed plays the piano, while I write the melodies and the words. To continue the metaphor, we also write songs separately and bring them together.”
The singer sold artworks, hand-typed with two fingers and featuring well-known lyrics from his songs to promote his new gallery, which he intends to double as a nightclub he describes as “the opposite of Studio 54, which was exclusive and pretentious” and will play host to pyjama parties and Kindness club nights.
So there you have it. If you’ll let him entertain you, Black and White Paintings will run from 13 - 25 May at Sotheby’s, 34-35 New Bond St, London W1S 2RP
