London has been hit by a heatwave this week and the temperature at Marble Arch rose even higher on Thursday night as British pop star-turned-artist Robbie Williams opened a solo exhibition on his home turf to a crowd of hundreds.
“Radical Honesty” at Moco Museum London, features nearly two dozen canvas works and sculptures by Williams revolving around the themes of modern-day anxiety and emotional vulnerability inspired by his personal experience. The show is Williams’s third collaboration with the museum, which has been presenting solo shows of his works at its spaces in Barcelona and Amsterdam.
Robbie Williams posing with this canvas work Radical Honesty II at the launch of his solo exhibition at Moco Museum London on May 1, 2025. © Photography by Rob Jones for Khroma Collective.
Unlike most art exhibition openings, this one at the pink-themed three-story complex carried a pop concert flavor. Dozens of fans waited outside the venue for hours, including a group that flew in from Germany and arrived at the barricaded entrance at 9 a.m. in the hope of meeting the 51-year-old celebrity. Invited guests arriving from 8 p.m had to occupy themselves with the works on show on the ground floor and the basement level, while waiting for the star’s speech before they could be allowed to climb up the stairs to the first floor, where the exhibition is held.
At about 9 p.m., Williams made his appearance in a denim outfit and greeted the 200-strong crowd. Among them were British TV personalities Leigh Francis and Andy Goldstein, as well as British artists Chris Levine and Philip Colbert.
“There is a lot of negativities when it comes to celebrity doing art. They shouldn’t do it,” Williams said in his speech, addressing the criticisms he has received about his art-making. The star long been an art collector and has been exhibiting his work, including a showcase at Sotheby’s in 2022 and the launch of a ceramics series last year. But he continues to be questioned about the intentions behind his work.
A general view of the atmosphere at the opening of Robbie Williams’s new solo art exhibition ‘Radical Honesty’ at Moco Museum on May 1, 2025 in London, England. Photo by Dave Benett.
“The question is always why. It’s always with a dismissive term,” he continued. “If I listened to what the critics say, I wouldn’t do anything. I wouldn’t be anyone. I wouldn’t go anyone. And yet, I stand here before you with complete humility.”
Lionel Logchines, who co-founded Moco Museum with Kim Logchines-Prins, his wife and the museum’s curator, said the couple began collecting Williams’s works three years ago. The couple first discovered Williams’s iPad drawings on Instagram, noting that the “Angels” singer-songwriter had already been drawing for nearly two decades while on tour. The pair now has five works including paintings and sculptures, he noted. He likes the humor and discussions about mental health issues in Williams’s works and how they resonate with viewers’ lives and inner selves.
“It makes you feel good, that you are not alone,” Logchines told me at the opening. “For example, at a party, there’s so much anxiety for me, and he’s honest about it. That’s what I love. His work is really strong, with powerful messages. I think he will be the next Banksy.”
While most of the attendees of the opening reception did not seem to be the typical art crowd (some were busy posing for selfies with the art or trying to snap a picture of the star), there was no lack of audience members trying to take a serious look at the works featured at the show. Williams’s creations hang alongside other works by the likes of Takashi Murakami, Banksy, George Condo, Daniel Arsham, and KAWS, on loan from various private collections.
Robbie Williams sits on his “introvert chair” at his solo exhibition ‘Radical Honesty’ at Moco Museum London. © Photography by Rob Jones for Khroma Collective.
The colorful works are approachable, with reflective statements spelled across canvas that can easily resonate with a general audience. It is not hard to link with them with Williams’s other recent screen offerings such as his eponymous Netflix documentary and biopic , as the works are distilled from his personal journey to fame and battle with dyslexia and ADHD.
For example, his large-scale canvas depicting hilarious morning mirror pep talks and the candid thoughts of introverts struggling in social situations drew the most attention. In one painting of a red cassette tape, he penned: “Just because you’re dyslexic doesnt mean Youre not stupid.” He dedicates a cozy off-white one-seater in one room to introverts, calling it an “introvert chair” with a canvas work on the wall behind the chair that spells out the “rules of engagement,” instructing people not to engage with the introvert sitting on the chair.
is a large-scale sculpture in the shape of a hoodie with many small pockets, in which Williams lays out his history with addiction and self-medication. is an installation of a marble headstone with “I’m dead now please life & subscribe” inscribed on the surface, mocking social media culture.
“In a world obsessed with keeping it together, embracing the chaos might just be the most radical thing you can do,” Williams noted in a statement.
Source: Exhibition - news.artnet.com
