George Condo is a comprehensive monograph on the American artist of the same name. Condo emerged from the dynamism of the New York art scene in the early 1980s, and ever since he has been restlessly painting, drawing and producing sculpture. In 2017/18, Louisiana was the setting for the first exhibition in Scandinavia with Condo, which has exhibited all over the world and is represented in the largest museums in the USA.
Condo's originality lies in his transformation of references and inspirations, both in style and content, which encompass the canon of Western art history: from his journey through Greek classical sculpture to an unrestricted and free exchange of painterly languages ranging from Rembrandt and Velasquez to Picasso and Warhol, and a vision of literary and popular culture.
With his 'fake' Old Masters, reconfigured Manets, impossibly intricate paintings that only seem abstract from a distance, fractured and multifaceted 'psychological cubist' portraits and the orgiastic misdemeanors of a host of butlers, bankers and priests, Condo has invented and expanded not just one painting language, but an entire lexicon.
An introductory essay on Condo's conflicted character and a chapter exploring his phenomenal early career are followed by three thematic chapters looking at the years from 1984 to the present, tracing Condo's systematic reconstruction of the techniques of painting, and exploring the darker side of his psychological iconography in drawing, painting, sculpture and writing.
George Condo has been created in a collaboration between Condo himself and Simon Baker, curator at the Tate galleries in London.
Dimensions: H: 31 x W: 26.2 cm, paperback
Pages: 296
Language: English
Author: Simon Baker
Publisher: Thames & Hudson