George Condo

“The Humanoids are my imaginary people, ones who can play the role of all the lovers and the mad and lonely, the hierarchy and the lowlife...”
George Condo

George Condo is renowned for his hybrid use of artistic influences, from the Old Masters to cubism to pop art. The artist who coined the term “artificial realism” blends imagery and styles from various movements in works that critique contemporary Western culture and its excesses. The paintings and sculptures presented in this volume retrace his journey through the parallel universe of Humanoids: figures that are metaphors of our humanity, magnifying our emotions and revealing our high and low points. For the first time, in his own words, Condo reveals the genesis and significance of his creations and unveils previously unseen paintings created under the dual influence of the pandemic and political turmoil in the United States.
Didier Ottinger, art historian and specialist in modern and contemporary painting, examines the career, influences, and works of this unconventional artist who is at once rewriting the history of art and caricaturing the immoderation of the modern world. This book accompanies George Condo’s Humanoids exhibition that opens at the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco nearly a quarter century after he created set and costume designs for Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo.