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Lot Essay
'Condo paints pictures that exhaust the whole spectrum of an illusionist, figurative and narrative idiom, and at the same time address the issue of the painting as an artificial construct, above and beyond reality.' —— Margrit Brehem
Monumental in scale, George Condo’s Prescription for the Clinically Normal stands as a masterpiece amongst his coveted oeuvre. One of the leading painters of his generation, Condo’s technical dexterity and postmodern approach to form, colour, and composition have placed him at painting’s vanguard since his emergence on the scene over four decades ago. The present work exhibits a complex, psychological air that upends traditional portraiture while drawing inspiration from the history of figurative painting. At once a grandiose expression of his psychological portraiture and an exhibition of his confident hand, the present work's swirling, brushy cavalcade takes the viewer on an enthralling journey through the artist’s unique visual language.
Part of his aptly-named "Drawing Paintings" series, this painting is characterised by a tight grouping of staring faces and grasping extremities that meld with the contour lines of their mismatched bodies. Condo’s meandering lines envelop the viewer with a myriad of faces and figures that collide and intermingle to become one entity. Rendered atop cotton-candy like washes of peaches and pinks, a cast of characters peers out from superimposed passsages of yellow, blue, and orange weave together in clusters of brushy colour. Hazy brushwork set the stage for objects almost Guston-like in their fevered rendering while the emotive colour fields of the mid-twentieth century simmer in the fore. All of this comes together to create a visual vocabulary that is distinctly Condo. The dense web of charcoal lines and patches of colour reveal a horizontal band of bow-tied butlers and lustful figures partially emerging and materialising from their sketchy surroundings, from this chaotic yet dreamlike concoction emblematic of the entirety of Condo's oeuvre.
Donald Kuspit describes the "Drawing Paintings" as 'noteworthy not only for their mix of acrylic, charcoal, and oil pastel, almost indistinguishably integrated, but for their fusion of styles, resulting in what might be called an expressionistic surrealism or, perhaps more pointedly, an expressionistically grotesque surrealism. In comparison with the solo portraits for which Condo first became known, they suggest his painting has outgrown goofy comic-strip caricature, however sardonic it remains' (D. Kuspit, “George Condo,” Artforum, vol. 48, no. 9, May 2010, p. 252-253). Moving beyond singular figures and claustrophobic portraits, Condo approaches the juncture of painting and drawing on a grand scale. Prescription for the Clinically Normal exemplifies Condo’s innovative approach to blending abstraction with figuration in order to explore the fluidity of colour and line. Using charcoal, pastel, and acrylic, Condo creates spontaneous expressions of human consciousness that not only redefine the space between abstraction and figuration but also blur the boundaries between drawing and painting. This piece exemplifies his masterful blending of the immediacy of drawing with the layered complexity of painting. Abstraction in Condo's work is not merely an additional visual language he adopts. Instead, in the present work, abstraction seems to confront the figurative elements of his composition, stifling their attempt to take shape on the canvas. Dispersed among these figures is Rodrigo, the artist’s foil—a character who sees all, but says nothing—and his presence has become a constant force in Condo’s most celebrated paintings.
Condo's oeuvre reflects a deep engagement with a myriad of art historical styles and influences. The artist pays homage to Abstraction–influenced by de Kooning’s lines–Kirchner’s Expressionist style, Pollock’s all-encompassing compositions, and, of course, Picasso’s Cubist innovations. In Prescription for the Clinically Normal, each distinct figure rendered in Condo’s much-lauded style is infused with a range of emotions that simmer and vie for dominance. On this grand and immersive scale, this tension is magnified as the whirlpool of fragmented bodies churn and dissolve before the viewer. Marshalled by deft, sinuous black lines, the figures create a dynamic skeleton for the composition which recalls the emotional rawness and distorted forms of Kirchner’s work. Condo’s elegantly arranged, tumultuous stacking of figures, much like those immortalised by Kirchner, oscillate between abstraction and figuration as their flattened yet vibrant forms unify the composition in its visual rhythm. This emotional intensity and disintegration of form blur the lines between psychological tension and physicality, creating a sense of chaotic energy that draws the viewer into Condo’s charged psychological landscape.
Picasso’s Cubist compositions occupy a strong presence in the discussion of Condo’s work; however, instead of reimaging pictorial space like his predecessor, Condo focuses on the connection between emotional states and their manifestation on a canvas. On a formal level, the present work echoes Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon in its deconstruction and rearrangement of the human form. The angular, mask-like faces and fractured perspectives in Les Demoiselles parallel Condo's own chaotic, multifaceted portraits, where multiple viewpoints are compressed onto a single canvas. Above all, Condo’s style becomes a contemporary meditation on the tension between beauty and distortion, order and chaos, drawing from the past but reconfiguring it into something wholly his own. 'What interests him are how paintings function, how illusions are created, and how stories are told... Condo paints pictures that exhaust the whole spectrum of an illusionist, figurative and narrative idiom, and at the same time address the issue of the painting as an artificial construct, above and beyond reality' (M. Brehm, 'Tradition as Temptation. An Approach to the "George Condo Method"', in T. Kellein (ed.), George Condo: One Hundred Women, exh. cat., Salzburg, Museum der Moderne, 2005, p. 19-20). In the present work, Condo does not seek to appropriate style or substance but to establish a repartee with the past. By engaging in a stylistic dialogue with his artistic predecessors, Condo acknowledges the past as he reworks his own technique to arrive at an idiosyncratic visual language.
Condo’s importance in the contemporary art historical canon is underscored by his unique ability to bridge traditional and modern artistic practices. As described by Holland Cotter, Condo is the 'missing link… between an older tradition of fiercely loony American figure painting—Willem de Kooning’s grinning women, Philip Guston’s ground-meat guys, Jim Nutt’s cubist cuties, anything by Peter Saul—and the recent and updated resurgence of that tradition in the work of Mr. Currin, Glenn Brown, Nicole Eisenman, Dana Schutz and others'(H. Cotter, "A Mind Where Picasso Meets Looney Tunes", The New York Times, 28 January 2011, p. 29). Condo’s atemporal menagerie of diverse painterly traditions, coupled with an undeniable expressionist of his technical prowess, presents Prescription for the Clinically Normal as a show-stopping piece within his oeuvre.
Monumental in scale, George Condo’s Prescription for the Clinically Normal stands as a masterpiece amongst his coveted oeuvre. One of the leading painters of his generation, Condo’s technical dexterity and postmodern approach to form, colour, and composition have placed him at painting’s vanguard since his emergence on the scene over four decades ago. The present work exhibits a complex, psychological air that upends traditional portraiture while drawing inspiration from the history of figurative painting. At once a grandiose expression of his psychological portraiture and an exhibition of his confident hand, the present work's swirling, brushy cavalcade takes the viewer on an enthralling journey through the artist’s unique visual language.
Part of his aptly-named "Drawing Paintings" series, this painting is characterised by a tight grouping of staring faces and grasping extremities that meld with the contour lines of their mismatched bodies. Condo’s meandering lines envelop the viewer with a myriad of faces and figures that collide and intermingle to become one entity. Rendered atop cotton-candy like washes of peaches and pinks, a cast of characters peers out from superimposed passsages of yellow, blue, and orange weave together in clusters of brushy colour. Hazy brushwork set the stage for objects almost Guston-like in their fevered rendering while the emotive colour fields of the mid-twentieth century simmer in the fore. All of this comes together to create a visual vocabulary that is distinctly Condo. The dense web of charcoal lines and patches of colour reveal a horizontal band of bow-tied butlers and lustful figures partially emerging and materialising from their sketchy surroundings, from this chaotic yet dreamlike concoction emblematic of the entirety of Condo's oeuvre.
Donald Kuspit describes the "Drawing Paintings" as 'noteworthy not only for their mix of acrylic, charcoal, and oil pastel, almost indistinguishably integrated, but for their fusion of styles, resulting in what might be called an expressionistic surrealism or, perhaps more pointedly, an expressionistically grotesque surrealism. In comparison with the solo portraits for which Condo first became known, they suggest his painting has outgrown goofy comic-strip caricature, however sardonic it remains' (D. Kuspit, “George Condo,” Artforum, vol. 48, no. 9, May 2010, p. 252-253). Moving beyond singular figures and claustrophobic portraits, Condo approaches the juncture of painting and drawing on a grand scale. Prescription for the Clinically Normal exemplifies Condo’s innovative approach to blending abstraction with figuration in order to explore the fluidity of colour and line. Using charcoal, pastel, and acrylic, Condo creates spontaneous expressions of human consciousness that not only redefine the space between abstraction and figuration but also blur the boundaries between drawing and painting. This piece exemplifies his masterful blending of the immediacy of drawing with the layered complexity of painting. Abstraction in Condo's work is not merely an additional visual language he adopts. Instead, in the present work, abstraction seems to confront the figurative elements of his composition, stifling their attempt to take shape on the canvas. Dispersed among these figures is Rodrigo, the artist’s foil—a character who sees all, but says nothing—and his presence has become a constant force in Condo’s most celebrated paintings.
Condo's oeuvre reflects a deep engagement with a myriad of art historical styles and influences. The artist pays homage to Abstraction–influenced by de Kooning’s lines–Kirchner’s Expressionist style, Pollock’s all-encompassing compositions, and, of course, Picasso’s Cubist innovations. In Prescription for the Clinically Normal, each distinct figure rendered in Condo’s much-lauded style is infused with a range of emotions that simmer and vie for dominance. On this grand and immersive scale, this tension is magnified as the whirlpool of fragmented bodies churn and dissolve before the viewer. Marshalled by deft, sinuous black lines, the figures create a dynamic skeleton for the composition which recalls the emotional rawness and distorted forms of Kirchner’s work. Condo’s elegantly arranged, tumultuous stacking of figures, much like those immortalised by Kirchner, oscillate between abstraction and figuration as their flattened yet vibrant forms unify the composition in its visual rhythm. This emotional intensity and disintegration of form blur the lines between psychological tension and physicality, creating a sense of chaotic energy that draws the viewer into Condo’s charged psychological landscape.
Picasso’s Cubist compositions occupy a strong presence in the discussion of Condo’s work; however, instead of reimaging pictorial space like his predecessor, Condo focuses on the connection between emotional states and their manifestation on a canvas. On a formal level, the present work echoes Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon in its deconstruction and rearrangement of the human form. The angular, mask-like faces and fractured perspectives in Les Demoiselles parallel Condo's own chaotic, multifaceted portraits, where multiple viewpoints are compressed onto a single canvas. Above all, Condo’s style becomes a contemporary meditation on the tension between beauty and distortion, order and chaos, drawing from the past but reconfiguring it into something wholly his own. 'What interests him are how paintings function, how illusions are created, and how stories are told... Condo paints pictures that exhaust the whole spectrum of an illusionist, figurative and narrative idiom, and at the same time address the issue of the painting as an artificial construct, above and beyond reality' (M. Brehm, 'Tradition as Temptation. An Approach to the "George Condo Method"', in T. Kellein (ed.), George Condo: One Hundred Women, exh. cat., Salzburg, Museum der Moderne, 2005, p. 19-20). In the present work, Condo does not seek to appropriate style or substance but to establish a repartee with the past. By engaging in a stylistic dialogue with his artistic predecessors, Condo acknowledges the past as he reworks his own technique to arrive at an idiosyncratic visual language.
Condo’s importance in the contemporary art historical canon is underscored by his unique ability to bridge traditional and modern artistic practices. As described by Holland Cotter, Condo is the 'missing link… between an older tradition of fiercely loony American figure painting—Willem de Kooning’s grinning women, Philip Guston’s ground-meat guys, Jim Nutt’s cubist cuties, anything by Peter Saul—and the recent and updated resurgence of that tradition in the work of Mr. Currin, Glenn Brown, Nicole Eisenman, Dana Schutz and others'(H. Cotter, "A Mind Where Picasso Meets Looney Tunes", The New York Times, 28 January 2011, p. 29). Condo’s atemporal menagerie of diverse painterly traditions, coupled with an undeniable expressionist of his technical prowess, presents Prescription for the Clinically Normal as a show-stopping piece within his oeuvre.