George Condo
dal 14/10/2011 al 7/1/2012
Segnalato da
14/10/2011
George Condo
Hayward Gallery, London
Mental States. The first major survey of paintings and sculptures from the past 28 years of the artist's career. Condo's approach to making art unsettlingly conjoins the beautiful and the grotesque, seriousness and outlandish wit. He has populated his canvases with an arresting parade of tragic-comic beings, which for all their oddness and outrageous humour and their caricatured features, are deeply immersed in the traditions of European and American painting.
curated by Ralph Rugoff
Opening this autumn this Hayward Gallery exhibition is the first major retrospective of the American
artist George Condo. Since his emergence in New York’s East Village in the early 1980s with his ‘fake
Old Master’ canvases, George Condo has created one of the most adventurous, imaginative, and
provocative bodies of work in contemporary art. George Condo: Mental States is the first major
survey of paintings and sculptures from the past twenty-eight years of the artist’s career. Organised by
the Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre and curated by Hayward Director, Ralph Rugoff, the exhibition
premièred at New Museum, New York in January to critical acclaim, and is currently on show at
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. The Hayward Gallery presentation will feature some 80
works, and includes nine of Condo’s portraits of Her Majesty The Queen.
Condo’s approach to making art unsettlingly conjoins the beautiful and the grotesque, seriousness and
outlandish wit. He has populated his canvases with an arresting parade of tragic-comic beings, which
for all their oddness and outrageous humour and their caricatured features, are deeply immersed in the
traditions of European and American painting. Focusing on his ‘imaginary portraits’, which conjure
varied mental states with a mixture of absurdity and pathos, the exhibition also features portraits of
historical subjects such as Jesus and the Madonna as well as Her Majesty Elizabeth II, exploring the
breadth of Condo’s artistic vision.
Ralph Rugoff, Director of the Hayward Gallery says:
Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. Chairman: Rick Haythornthwaite.
Chief Executive: Alan Bishop. Artistic Director: Jude Kelly O BE
Southbank Centre is a Registered Charity No. 298909
Trustee: Southbank Centre Limited, Registered in England No.2238415
“I am delighted to be presenting the first major exhibition of Condo’s work in the UK. Long considered
an artist’s artist, Condo’s work has been a major influence on a younger generation of painters, who
have felt the impact of the artist’s astonishing technical ability, stylistic versatility and inventive subject
matter.”
Displayed in the upper galleries of the Hayward Gallery, George Condo: Mental States will be
organised thematically and stylistically in ‘chapters’ developed in close collaboration with the artist.
More than 30 paintings with a variety of styles and subjects are presented in a ‘portrait wall’
dramatically hung floor to ceiling in a salon style. Featuring a range of fantasy characters, these
portraits often incorporate elements from masterpieces by artists including Velasquez and Goya. The
characters are recognisable archetypes - butlers, businessmen, clergy and historical figures - familiar
despite their humorously grotesque features. Larger scale abstract works explore how Condo
reimagines the work of modern Masters such as Picasso. The paintings are complemented by a series
of nine sculptural heads including The Alcoholic (2002) all cast in gilded bronze.
About George Condo
American artist George Condo was born in New Hampshire. He has occupied a prominent position in
the art world for nearly three decades. Along with painters such as Keith Haring and Jean Michel
Basquiat, Condo was instrumental in the influential East Village art scene during the 1980s. Condo
studied art history and music theory at the University of Massachusetts I Lowell. The first public
exhibition of his work took place in New York City in 1981 and he has since exhibited extensively in the
United States and Europe. His work is included in the collections of museums including the Museum of
Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in
Buffalo. George Condo also works across fashion, music and street culture. He has collaborated with
Kanye West on the rapper’s latest album cover design, as well as on a series of limited edition silk
scarves (with design due M/M Paris). Last autumn, characters from Condo’s paintings came to life
during the catwalk show of New York fashion designer Adam Kimmel, during which the models wore
masks designed by the artist.
George Condo: Mental States is organised by the Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre and curated
by Hayward Director, Ralph Rugoff. The exhibition was shown previously at the New Museum, New
York, and is currently on show at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (25 June- 25
September). After the Hayward Gallery it will travel to Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (23 February – 28
May 2012).
The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue featuring essays by Ralph Rugoff and
Laura Hoptman, Curator at the Museum of Modern Art and contributions by the writers Will Self and
David Means. ISBN 978 1 85332 289 1 Special exhibition price £24.99 (RRP £34.99).
For press information and images please contact Helena Zedig on 020 7921 0847
helena.zedig@southbankcentre.co.uk or Sarah Ragsdale on 020 7921 0887
sarah.ragsdale@southbankcentre.co.uk or contact the press office on 020 7921 0888
On 15 October 2011, 7:30pm
American painter George Condo discusses his first major retrospective with the exhibition's curator and Hayward Gallery director Ralph Rugoff.
Hayward Gallery
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX
Opening hours:
Open daily 10am - 6pm
Late nights Thursdays and Fridays until 8pm
Ticket Prices:
Joint ticket prices for George Condo: Mental States and Pipilotti Rist
Full Price £10.00
Seniors 60+ £9.00
Concessions £8.00
Students £8.00
Young People (12 -18) £7.50
Under 12’s (out of school hours) Free