When a painter as influential as George Condo opens an exhibition featuring new works, the simple title Paintings & Works on Paper will suffice quite nicely. Featuring mostly recent pieces, the exhibition, opening November 11th, Skarstedt Gallery in NYC, will feature 5 large-scale works on paper, 4 paintings measuring 10 x 11 feet, one monumental canvas over 14 feet and a suite of smaller improvisational drawings.
The large works explore "the inner activity of the human psyche in relationship with the external presence of the physical body," through a series of texture-rich works. Using a scale traditionally reserved for paintings, and mixing both drawing and painting techniques and mediums on paper, Condo fashions uniquely beautiful surfaces with gesso, ink washes and metallic paints. The combination of impressive scale and effective technique results in rivetting visuals built from layers of intuitive, expressive and bold gestures. These larger works will be showcased alongside a vignette of clever and colorful smaller improvisational drawings. Further engaging the variety of artist's signature ideas about Psychological Cubism, this series of portrait works simultaneously depicts the "states of joy and horror, familiarity and the alien."
Attention is bound to converge on three massive paintings, each measuring 10 x 11 feet. Utilizing bright and vibrant color and line work, these exuberant visual treats forge ahead with explosive energy and framework of his drawing, reinvigorating the mood of some of his older paintings. These joyous and zestful images contrast with a group of works under titled The Black Paintings. These minimal and figurative compositions imbued with dark existential ambiance, are "exploring the artist's own autobiographical experiences which have influenced his approach to painting." —Sasha Bogojev
