In 2021, the Morgan acquired twenty-eight drawings by American artist George Condo (b. 1957) that offer an overview of his career over the last forty-five years. Ranging from early drawings made when he was a teenager to recent explorations into what he calls “psychological Cubism,” the exhibition, Entrance to the Mind: Drawings by George Condo will highlight Condo’s brilliant draftsmanship through a cast of characters in turn comic, monstrous, tragic, and endearing. The exhibition opens on February 24th.
Drawing, or “visual thinking” as he calls it, is central to Condo’s practice, which centers around the figure. Engaged in a continuous dialogue with earlier masters, from Rembrandt and Goya to Picasso and de Kooning, Condo uses traditional styles and techniques to create imaginary portraits in which wild distortions suggest extreme psychological states. “Everybody I draw is kind of a lunatic,” he acknowledges. George Condo (b. 1957) born in Concord, New Hampshire, lives and works in New York.
Entrance to the Mind: Drawings by George Condo in the Morgan Library & Museum is made possible with support from Thomas J. Reid and Christina M. Pae, Alyce Williams Toonk, Hauser & Wirth, and the Rita Markus Fund for Exhibitions.
Entrance to the Mind: Drawings by George Condo will be on view from February 24 through May 14, 2023 at The Morgan Library, 225 Madison Avenue, NYC.
Take a look back at the exhibition George Condo. Internal Riot at Hauser & Wirth in 2020.