Artists George (L) and Gilbert present to fans one of their latest paintings titled "Union Jack" during the inauguration of an exhibition of their Jack Freak Pictures at Bernier/Eliades gallery in Athens, on Nov. 19, 2009. The two artists who comment on nation, sex, death, religion, fashion with their distinctive format of large scale vibrantly colored photo grids, were present at the opening gala of the Jack Freak Pictures series show in Athens. (Xinhua/ Marios Lolos) Photo Gallery>>>

    ATHENS, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- The British visual artist duo Gilbert and George opened an exhibition of their latest works in Athens on Thursday evening.

    The artists' 17 most recent paintings of the Jack Freak Pictures series will be on display until Jan. 9 at the Bernier/Eliades Gallery in the city center. It is their second visit to Athens in five years.

Artists George (R) and Gilbert present to fans one of their latest paintings titled "Union Jack" during the inauguration of an exhibition of their Jack Freak Pictures at Bernier/Eliades gallery in Athens, on Nov. 19, 2009. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) Photo Gallery>>>

    The two pioneering artists, who have been working together for more than four decades, plan to tour the world one more time, from Europe to China, to show their bold creations. They held an exhibition in London two years ago, which was the largest retrospective of any artist at the Tate Modern.

    Speaking with Xinhua during the opening gala of the Athens show, George and Gilbert stressed that they were warmly welcomed when they first visited China in 1993 to show their large-scale, vibrantly colored photo grids. They said they hoped to return to China soon.

    The Jack Freak Pictures series is based on the familiar archetypal motif of the red, white and blue Union Jack, and is a pictorial comment on nation, sex, death, religion and individuality.

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