Condo’s paintings play to his viewers’ sense of superiority; it gives them something to smile at without thinking too deeply into the work.
George Condo
Posted inArt
Navigating the Overload at the Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale’s official exhibition, May You Live In Interesting Times, presents art that speaks to the present, not in the direct fashion of journalism, but in ways that can challenge existing habits of thought.
Posted inPerformance
Sketches from a Magical, Multimedia Opera Set in a Soaring Cathedral
Anthony Roth Costanzo has made it his mission to make classical music appealing to broader and younger audiences. It worked.
Posted inOpinion
Kanye Gives Kim Kardashian a George Condo-Painted Hermès Birkin Bag
Kanye has had a longstanding relationship with artist George Condo, but their latest “collaboration” came in the form of a gift for Kim Kardashian — a hand-painted Hermès Birkin bag.
Posted inArt
The Best Show At MoMA Is Not What You Think
With the hype surrounding the Cindy Sherman blockbuster retrospective on the 6th floor, which critics have almost unanimously praised, I was surprised to find that the most invigorating, exciting and generally mind-blowing exhibition at MoMA right now is Exquisite Corpses.
Posted inArt
The Opportunity To Be A George Condo and 9 Other Reasons I ♥ Art In NY
Occasionally after going to countless gallery openings or museum previews, I get a little sick of the New York art scene — the pretentiousness, the glut of Yale MFA students showing academic and alienating art and the quirky thick-rimmed glasses. Just in time for the September gallery openings, I’m going to list the things I love about art in New York in no particular order.
Posted inArt
Can’t-Miss NY Art Events For This Weekend
Even with New York City’s constantly-full calendar of art events, this weekend is packed with shows, activities and sights for the whole family to enjoy. Check out the Festival of New Ideas around the New Museum, plus their Condo show ending this weekend, and see a new public sculpture by sculptor Jaume Plensa.
Posted inArt
First Look: George Condo Unveiled at New Museum
At a preview of the New Museum’s George Condo retrospective, I was struck by the painter’s relentless engagement with all sorts of art historical genres, from Baroque portraiture to abstract expressionism and back again. Here’s a photo essay covering the entire Condo exhibition, from the salon style portrait start to the abstract expressionist finish.
Posted inOpinion
Five NYC Museum Shows to Look Forward to in 2011
It’s the New Year all over again, and aside from going out and partying, there’s not much in the New Year to look forward to yet. I’m finding myself starting at empty calendar and wondering what to fill it up with. Why not schedule in some art? It’s never to early to start that exhibition calendar going, so here are five exhibitions that I think will light up this new year in New York City.
Posted inNews
Kanye’s George Condo Album Cover (Probably) Banned
In case you haven’t heard from the star’s overactive Twitter account, Kanye’s latest album is called My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and the just-released album cover art pretty much matches the title.
Following Kanye’s GOOD Friday single series which also featured the artist, the album cover is painted by none other than 1980s art world wunderkind George Condo. The image depicts a bear-like Kanye reclining on a bright blue couch, a naked human/bird hybrid with a polka-dotted (snow leopard?) tail perches on his leg and shrieks into the foreground, a classic Condo grin on her face. I would tell you this is a fine example of Fauvist coloring, but somehow it seems unnecessary.
Posted inArt
The Brucennial: Piece By Piece (Part 4 of 5)
The reviews never stop on Hyperallergic: 176. David Carlin – Ready for the wound. Lovely, actually.; 177. Aga Olisseinov – Looks like a pagan ritual from The Wild Wild West TV show. Love.; 178. Ann Gillan – To paraphrase and twist Bryan Ferry: Just enough is never too much. I want this …