Robbie Williams on Canvas: Art or Emotional Outlet?
With Robbie's exhibition now on show at Moco Museum in London, we ask: is our Rob actually any good at art, or is it all a bit self-indulgent? Fliss Grant investigates…
Stoke-born Robbie has received some pretty raw feedback on his latest venture into the art world. The Guardian gave his new art show a brutal review, so I decided to check it out myself and speak to the local arts community to get their thoughts, too.
If I had to describe Robbie Williams’ new art show in three words, they’d be: disappointing, but unsurprising. While we’re lucky to live in a world where we can express ourselves creatively in whatever way we choose, that freedom also enables monstrously rich, famous people (surrounded by yes-men) to do whatever they want and call it art.
Williams’ exhibition, named Radical Honesty and running at the Moco Museum in London until late October, is a collection of artworks he’s created on his iPad, pieces he says “take 25 minutes to complete.” Cluttered with self-absorbed therapy talk and flavourless observations, the show feels more like a digital diary than a meaningful artistic statement. Based on the comments section of a recent Sunday Times interview with Robbie, where he says he plans to sell his art to “rich people” and admits, regarding art training, that he “hasn’t got the time or inclination”, public reaction is mixed. However, the general sentiment is that this is a vanity project that feels tone-deaf in the current, heavy climate.
Nena Selmes, gallery coordinator at the Foxlowe Arts Centre in Leek, mourned the fact that the work doesn’t tell us who Rob really is. “This tragically vapid rehashing of internet self-help memes does not, in any way, reveal anything meaningful about the artist. Robbie Williams has lived his whole adult life in the public eye, with every move documented, criticised, hashed and rehashed.
“If all that can be culled from this is a series of inane, computer-produced memes, it’s a shame because there’s clearly more to the man than this. No doubt it will sell, and sell well, for ridiculous sums, but that doesn’t make it fine art, meaningful or otherwise. What it does tell us is that, in an increasingly meme-fed validation of experience, this is the art we probably deserve.”
With one of his pieces reading “I was mentally ill before it was cool”, and another “I want all of the attention and at the same time none at all”, you’re left staring blankly, cartoon-blinking into space as your head empties with the emptiness of the art itself.
As someone who has struggled with anxiety and depression, I personally welcome light-heartedness in the mental health space, and while I (sort of) understand what Robbie was trying to do here, I think he’s missed the mark in terms of relatability and warmth. Simply put, this should have stayed a private therapeutic exercise, not a commercialised show the public is expected to pay 20 quid to see.
Amanda Bromley, owner of Barewall Art Gallery in Burslem, where Robbie grew up, would like to see his art displayed locally. “I know the exhibition has received criticism, but I haven’t seen it so I can’t judge. I feel that the Robbie we know and love does better when he connects with his local roots. I would love to see his work in Burslem to allow the people of Stoke-on-Trent to say what it means to them.”
James Routledge, founder of The Knot takes a more empathetic approach to Robbie’s art work and wonders if the art community have been overly harsh towards him. “I know it's not very fashionable to stick up for Robbie Williams, but I really think he gets such a hard time. I swear if any other artist did this they might be praised for ‘reinventing’ themselves, but because it's Robbie from Stoke, he gets slated.
“I get it, it’s not fine art, but it’s expressive and relatable. I can’t really pick apart the art itself. I just feel like Robbie gets bashed very unfairly by everyone. Couldn’t we, especially people from his hometown, stick up and support him more? As a creative person, I massively respect his willingness to put himself out there and bare his soul in art, documentaries and film.”
There’s no doubt in my mind that being a musician and creating art can go hand in hand. Creativity has no bounds, and if you’re a creative person, naturally, you might dip a toe into different streams.
However, there’s a valid argument that artistic legitimacy is undermined when someone of Robbie Williams’ fame, who has previously said he “swapped cocaine and strippers for colouring in”, produces (self-admittedly) flippant, lazy work. While I wish him all the best as he is clearly struggling, I feel the show lacks any respect for the art community and should have been left in his Google Drive.
Radical Honesty is on at London’s Moco Museum until October 24, 2025
PS: don’t have time to make the trip to London to see Rob’s art? You can at least see four ceramic artworks he’s created, inspired by two of his drawings of Jesus and The Pope. The pieces have been brought to life by 1882 Ltd’s potters and will be displayed as part of ‘100 Years, 60 Designers & 1 Future’, in The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery’s Fine Art Gallery. The exhibition opens tomorrow on 12/06.
So interesting to see how this has been received. Posh people make vapid self indulgent art all of the time and it’s not called out and derided in the same way this is. Don't get me wrong, I don’t disagree with the sentiment about Robbie’s work. He’s a shameless chancer and he knows it. But it seems to be is that what he’s guilty of is not having the intellectual ability or willingness to dress this up as anything other than a bit of self indulgent bullshit.