GEORGE CONDO. MENTAL STATES
Ironic, provocative, witty--since his beginnings in New York's East Village in the early 1980s American artist George Condo has produced a distinctive body of work. His paintings, characterized by mordant humor, surrealist-tinged absurdity, and exuberant pathos, make repeated reference to the traditions of American and European art history of the last 500 years, from Velázquez by way of Picasso to Gorky. In partnership with the Hayward Gallery in London, the SCHIRN is pleased to present the first comprehensive retrospective in Germany of Condo's art. Condo works in a style that can be described as artificial realism, and both his paintings and sculptures display his ongoing examination of human physiognomy and all-too-human mental states. Organized thematically and stylistically in groups, sixty-six important paintings from different creative periods, as well as a selection of roughly ten sculptures and new works by the artist will be exhibited at the SCHIRN.
PUBLICATIONS
The catalogue 'George Condo. Mental States' pictures the distinctive body of work of the American artist Condo has produced since the early 1980s. His artistic style combines mercilessly the beautiful and the grotesque, seriousness and absurdity. Thereby he is ironic, provocative and witty. Skillfully drawing on the pictorial language of past centuries, Condo incorporates a variety of painterly and pictorial styles into his work. One focus is on his imaginary portraits -- archetypes, evoking different mental states, which unsparingly exposes the yawning abysses and ridiculousness of modern society.