This Untitled oil painting on canvas from 1985 is by American Contemporary artist George Condo (b. 1957). The bizarre cartoonish figures depicted are unique examples of Condo's "imaginary portraits" for which he has become well known. Condo renders characters of his own imagination in a variety of styles-- all in the name of "Artificial Realism," Condo's own term for his representations of artificial subjects. This painting is unframed, in excellent condition, measures 35.40 x 35.40 inches, (90 x 90 cm) and is presently held in a top Private Collection, Europe. This painting was originally acquired from the Barbara Gladstone Gallery NY, who first exhibited Condo's work in 1984.
George Condo is an influential American painter, sculptor, draughtsman, and printmaker. He attended University of Massachusetts- Lowell, where he studied art history and music theory. He moved to Boston after two years of college and worked in a silkscreen shop, then joined a band called The Girls, as did abstract painter Mark Dagley (American, b. 1957). While in the band, Condo met Jean-Michel Basquiat (American, 1960–1988), and this meeting prompted Condo to move to New York and seriously pursue a career in art. Condo's first public exhibitions were held in East Village galleries between 1981 and 1983. In 1983, Condo moved to Los Angeles and had his first solo exhibition at Ulrike Kantor Gallery. He then moved to Germany and worked with the Mulheimer Freiheit group. His first European solo exhibition was in 1984 at Monika Sprüth Gallery. While in Europe, Condo met Barbara Gladstone, and, later in 1984, he had a two-gallery exhibition in New York at Pat Hearn and Barbara Gladstone Galleries.
Condo has exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX; the Musée Maillol, Paris, France; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; the Stalliche Kunthstalle Baden-Baden, Germany; and Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands. He lives and works in New York.
Selected Public Collections:
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway
Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, Ministère de la Culture, Paris, France
Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain, Ile de France, Paris, France
Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Spain
Norton Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
NOTE: Seller accepts bank wire transfer as primary method of payment for this lot.
