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Text Allie Biswas

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Art & Photography / / Who, What, Why

George Condo's Mental States— December 5, 2011 —

George Condo, the New York-based American painter who has beencreat ing images of a predominant ly sel f - invented cast of out landish,

t ragi -comic charac ters s ince the early 1980s. . .

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Batman and Bunny, 2005 © George Condo

Who? George Condo, the New York-based American painter who has beencreating images of a predominantly self-invented cast of outlandish, tragi-comic characters since the early 1980s. Having started at the Factory in 1981,working as a screen printer and diamond duster, Condo spent some timeexhibiting in the States, before moving to Paris for a decade. It was in Zurichthat the artist had his first seminal show in 1985, showing 300 works at GalerieBruno Bischofberger. After permanently moving back to New York in the mid-90s, Condo received an award from the American Academy of Arts and Lettersand, more recently, has designed costumes for the ballet, created masks forfashion designer Adam Kimmel, and designed a record cover for Kanye West.

What? Frequently defined as ludicrous in appearance and mentally unsound –what the artist has called 'antipodal beings' – Condo's depiction of figures hasallowed for an exploration of his subjects' inner emotions and states of mindthrough a portraiture that regularly unifies classic cartoonish forms withinCubist and Ab Ex arrangements, handled through painting techniquesborrowed from the Old Masters. Nearly 80 works are currently on displayin Mental States at the Hayward Gallery – an exhibition of Condo's work from

the last three decades. Including a wide range of paintings, starting in 1982 withThe Madonna, described by Condo as his first mature work, the exhibition isorganised thematically into three sections focusing on the primary topics withwhich the artist has been concerned: Portraiture, Abstract-Figuration, andMania and Melancholy. Although detailing a very contemporary mind frame,Condo continuously demonstrates a talent for referencing a range of hispersonal greats within the canon, whether the early Americans, like PhilipGuston or De Kooning, or the old Europeans, such as Arcimbolo and Goya.

"Considering the amount of attention given to other artistsof his generation such as John Currin and Glenn Brown,this retrospective display is hugely overdue"

Why? Surprisingly, Mental States is the first institutional career survey given toCondo. Considering the amount of attention given to other artists of hisgeneration such as John Currin and Glenn Brown – both undoubtedly indebtedto Condo although much less interesting and inventive – this retrospectivedisplay is hugely overdue. Catch it before it closes next month.

Mental States is at the Hayward Gallery until January 8 2012.

Text by Allie Biswas

George Condo's Mental States5 images

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