George Condo

Condo is a defining figure of contemporary American painting. Drawing constitutes a rich strand of his creative practice which has continually evolved over the past four decades. As in previous works, Condo’s ‘Distanced Figures’ synthesize pictorial languages and motifs to create what he describes as ‘composites of various psychological states’. The themes in the drawings not only respond to our current situation and the absence of human contact, they are a continuation of the recurrent themes in the artist’s work. In earlier paintings, such as ‘Separated by Life’ (1986), the physical detachment between figures indicates underlying psychological states of disconnection. The figures in this new series of works often appear in pairs, linked by intersecting lines, yet their viewpoints do not connect.

For Condo, the condition of isolation also carries positive connotations of seclusion in the studio space. He explains: ‘I love to draw and in the usual context of privacy, one doesn’t think of the term isolation or forced separation, rather it’s a space to create without being watched.’ The concept of improvisation and the immediacy of a drawing is central. Drawing quickly and freely, he likens the tempo of a piece of music to the tempo of a drawing. In this respect, Condo’s training in classical music is important to his process of artmaking, he believes that ‘artists should paint up-tempo without missing a stroke, in the same way that musicians like Jimi Hendrix or Glenn Gould play without missing any notes. There is also the same degree of attention necessary when drawing slowly, as one may find in a Sarabande of Bach.’

Condo also likens the freedom and intimacy of drawing to ‘walking through Birnam Woods trying to chase down the trees.’ The drawings in this exhibition provide unparalleled insight into the cathartic experience of artmaking in the time of lockdown.