George Condo's "Drawing Paintings" series, initiated in 2009, represents a bold endeavor to blur the lines between drawing and painting, merging the improvisational essence of drawing with the deliberate approach of painting. This fusion results in artworks that challenge the traditional distinction between these mediums, allowing Condo to explore what he terms "abstract figuration" (Skarstedt).
The series showcases Condo's continuous fascination with the human figure and a cast of recurring, imaginary characters, such as bow-tied butlers and leering nudes, which emerge among charcoal lines and swatches of pastel and acrylic. This exploration of characters is extended in a subset of the series called "Compressions," where the composition's elements are densely packed towards one corner, resulting in images that take on a sculptural appearance due to their concentrated forms and colors (Skarstedt).
Born in New Hampshire in 1957, George Condo has held a prominent place in the art world for nearly three decades, contributing significantly to the revival of painting in the 1980s alongside contemporaries like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. Condo's commitment to his unique vision has inspired younger artists, and his work is featured in the permanent collections of prestigious institutions such as The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum, and the Whitney, among others (Skarstedt).
Condo's Drawing Paintings are noted for their combination of myriad shapes, colors, and lines, weaving together references to Old Master portraits, "psychological Cubism," cartoons, and a dedication to exploring the boundaries between figurative and non-representational painting. The series marks a significant departure from traditional oil painting, embracing the "sketchy" materials of acrylic, charcoal, and pastel to achieve a freedom of line and color. These works reflect a blend of techniques and styles from Modernist predecessors while charting new territory in "abstract figuration." In creating the Drawing Paintings, Condo aimed to reintegrate more naturalistic faces and bodies into his work, moving away from the "pods and peripheral beings" that had previously characterized his art (Sothebys.com).
The synthesis of drawing and painting within a single canvas, as seen in this series, reflects Condo's pursuit of immediacy and spontaneity in mark-making. This approach not only underscores the significance of chance and reconfiguration in his work but also highlights the egalitarian treatment of different media, which historically have occupied distinct niches in the art world. The Drawing Paintings thus stand out for their innovative technique, layering, drawing, and blending until a cohesive interplay of forms and colors emerges (Sothebys.com).
Through this series, Condo has cemented his position as a leading figure in contemporary figurative painting, influencing a new generation of artists with his method of distorting traditional motifs through an abstract lens. The Drawing Paintings exemplify Condo's ingenious manipulation of line, color, and form, inviting viewers into a complex world where beauty and horror coexist, challenging conventional distinctions in art (Sothebys.com).