Gert & Uwe Tobias, Maureen Paley

Gert & Uwe Tobias’ prints and other artworks arrive at Maureen Paley’s Bethnal Green Gallery following the success of the Romanian brothers at Whitechapel Gallery last year

The work of twin brothers Gert and Uwe Tobias is like something out of a disturbing nightmare or an Eastern European folk story. These German-based artists, born in the Transylvanian region of Romania, situate themselves somewhere in between. Based fervently in the visual language of folk art, the brothers also look towards German post-war painting, modernist geometric abstraction, surrealism, and the symbolic poetry of William Blake to create the peculiar set of characters and creatures that inhabit their work. 

Working outside of Cologne the brothers have been collaborating since 2001, and were exhibited last year at Whitechapel Gallery. They work with an assortment of materials from giant woodcuts, collages to large wall paintings which all share the same combination of decorative motifs like flowers, plants, patterns, embroidery and domestic objects to make up their unique style. These surreal tableaux form the brothers’ second solo exhibition at Maureen Paley, the established east end gallery which represents acclaimed artists including Gillian Wearing and Wolfgang Tillmans.