Gilbert and George have worked together for nearly 40 years

Next February's show, which features work from the past 35 years, will fill an entire floor at the gallery.

"Everybody used to say, 'Gilbert and George are very interesting, but will it last?' So we feel a sense of triumph that it has lasted," said Gilbert.

The pair turned down an offer from Tate Britain to host the exhibition.

Performance artists

"We think we are modern artists rather than British artists, and we think that the space is more suitable as well," said George Passmore, 64.

"When we started, people would look to France and then America (who represent the best in art) but now it's Britain and that's very good," said Gilbert Proesch, 62.

"It's been revolutionary in the way that we are much freer in England now and we may have contributed to that a little, but we don't want to blow our own trumpets".

The pair's work Base was part of their Sonofagod Pictures Was Jesus Heterosexual? show

Gilbert and George, known for their sharp suits and dour expressions, have courted controversy over the course of their career with paintings like Dirty Words Pictures.

Their early career included a spell as performance artists with works such as The Singing Sculpture, in which they were covered with metallic gold paint and mimed to the song Underneath The Arches for long periods.

The pair, who are rarely seen apart, consider themselves as living sculptures. They won the Turner Prize in 1986.

The show will run at the Tate Modern for three months, before travelling to Munich, Turin, San Francisco and Brooklyn.