
Bob & Roberta Smith
b. 1963 in London, UK / Lives and works London, UK
Central to Bob and Roberta Smith’s thinking is the idea that political campaigns are extended art works which include a variety of consciousness raising artefacts. Much of his art takes the form of painted signs. These colourful slogans on banners and placards challenge elitisms and advocate the important of creativity in politics and education. In 2013, with this aim in mind, he initiated the Arts’ Party Conference – a forum for artists and organisations to debate the role of art and design in schools – and he continues to be an active voice in British politics through a number of outlets. As well as hosting a radio show called Make Your Own Damn Music on Resonance FM, Bob and Roberta Smith is a writer and musician, often performing with the Ken Brasley Playboy band.

Art makes children powerful, 2013
oil on timber
175 x 47.5

Your Voice Needs You, Doors, 2017
Signwriters paint on wood (2 parted)
196 x 155 cm

Message From The Mountain Top
Installation view
von Bartha, S-chanf, 2015

Lost in the forest, 2008
Acrylic on wood
277 x 274 cm
109 1/8 x 107 7/8 in

Floresent, 1999
Oil on wood panel
240 x 60 cm

The Whole World Is An Art School
Installation view
von Bartha, Basel, 2018

The Whole World Is An Art School
Installation view
von Bartha, Basel, 2018

When Andy Warhol was a translator, 1997
Acrylic on wodpanels
245 x 490 cm

Make Art Not War, 2015
Oil on board
120 x 120 cm

„what unites human beings..“
Wood panels, painted
99 x 100 x 74,5 cm

This artist is deeply dangerous, 2009
Signwriting enamel on found materials from Vicking Bay
140 x 120 cm each (9 panels)

Permanent Wall Painting at von Bartha, Basel