George Condo

George Condo, born in 1957 in Concord, New Hampshire, has held a prominent position in the American painting field for nearly four decades. Condo effortlessly weaves together elements of Old Master portraiture with nods to contemporary American culture, creating a visual landscape that is as captivating as it is original.

George Condo's Art Style

George Condo's art is populated by a cast of characters that defy convention. Their exaggerated features, with bulging eyes, bulbous cheeks, and peculiar limbs, mark them as a distinctive species in the realm of art. This uniqueness sets Condo's work apart and contributes to its profound originality. What truly astounds observers is the vast array of sources that inform his pictorial vocabulary. Yet, amid this diversity, there is a remarkable continuity that underscores his mastery of absorbing the revolutionary genius of artistic giants like Picasso, Velázquez, Matisse, Arcimboldo, Pollock, Twombly, and many others, infusing their influence with his own unmistakable style.

Within Condo's canvases, you'll encounter a mesmerizing array of characters, from priests and cardinals to clowns and waiters. Grotesque nudes, debutantes adorned with pearl necklaces, and eager society girls populate his works, often staring out confrontationally. Condo himself describes his portraits as composites of various psychological states, painted in diverse ways that mirror the madness of everyday life. He calls this approach 'Artificial Realism,' which represents the realistic depiction of the artificial.

In Condo's paintings, cartoon figures and human forms fuse together in a state of metamorphosis, each simultaneously conveying a multitude of emotions and gestures. Within a single expression, you might find a scream and a laugh coexisting. His exploration extends to sculptures, drawings, and apparently abstract painting compositions that reveal the familiar physiognomies of Condo's characters, which emerge and recede like enigmatic narratives.