[Brill, Patrick] (b London, Feb 3, 1963). English artist. He first studied Fine Art at the University of Reading (1981–5) then took an MFA at Goldsmiths’ College (1991–3). He initially developed as a successful painter in the late 1980s, producing work which incorporated cartoon imagery and was influenced by the New Image and Neo-Expressionist tendencies in painting, and particularly by Sandro Chia. However, around 1989–90, whilst living in New York, Brill began to feel his work represented an establishment style, and, disliking the commercialism of the art world of which it was a part, he abandoned painting altogether and began to produce a variety of work, from Super 8 films to performances. Around this time he also adopted the pseudonym Bob and Roberta Smith. Making some parody DIY art kits, such as plastic guns intended to produce instant Anselm Kiefer pictures, he grew attracted to postures of amateurism and failure. His more recent work has suggested an interest in the utopian impulse of art as an agent for social change, although this often seems hedged with doubt or irony. His installation at the Chisenhale Gallery in London in ...