A muffled scream, disheveled hair, one eye wide open in fright—George Condo’s “Portrait de Femme” from 1990 is a splendid blend of grotesque and pathos, a highly distorted portrait that touches us while, almost in passing, revealing deeply human traits. Instead of emphasizing the physical characteristics of his humanoid figure, the American painter—as is typical of his work—focuses on the visualization of human emotion, the internal conflict of the human psyche, and captivates his audience with the duality between irritation and pleasure, between euphoria and hysteria.

George Condo, who became one of the most influential contemporary artists in the U.S. with his figurative-grotesque works, began his career as an employee at Warhol’s Factory and worked closely with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat in New York. Although he quickly made a name for himself in the local art scene, he would turn his back on his artistic home shortly thereafter for a good decade. From 1985 to 1995, he explored European art and culture, living primarily in Paris, surrounded by new impressions. The experiences of this period and his exposure to European art would shape his artistic style, which can be summarized as a kind of synthesis of art-historical references and contemporary aesthetics. The painter calls his style “Artificial Realism,” or “Artistic Realism,” a concept that turns the maxim of art history on its head: Condo does not seek to depict reality in his art; instead, he aims to depict the artistic realistically.

Condo’s work is ironic, grotesque, and witty, characterized by its surrealist absurdity and exuberant pathos. Time and again, he references works and styles from American and European art history, which he skillfully combines with elements of American Pop Art, effortlessly bridging the gap across centuries. In addition to Velázquez, Picasso’s varied oeuvre is also a recurring focus of his interest; it may have served as a reference here as well, as suggested by the title of the work, “Portrait de Femme,” which is familiar from numerous works by Pablo Picasso. In George Condo’s portrait version, emotion is ultimately heightened to the extreme, and in an incomparable Condo-style, comedy is combined with tragedy, the human with the artistic. [AR]