George Condo Unveils New Paintings and Drawings Made During Quarantine

After creating an original cover artwork for Travis Scott’s “FRANCHISE” single, George Condo returns with a fresh crop of paintings and works on paper as part of an upcoming exhibition at Hauser & Wirth’s New York City outpost. Titled “Internal Riot,” the presentation features pieces made by the seminal American artist during quarantine amid the COVID-19 crisis. The works evoke “the unsettling experience of physical distance and the absence of human contact during this prolonged time of social isolation,” as per the gallery in a statement.

The pandemic has forced Condo to elevate his portraiture practice, creating new characters that appear inverted while mired in vivid Cubist-inspired elements. The subjects appearing across the works reflect the difficult emotions, such as fear and uncertainty, felt by millions across the globe in these unprecedented times. These drawn or painted figures are also intended to be insolation, devoid of connection to one another.

“These paintings and drawings explore my experience in isolation and reflect the inner isolation we have all experienced throughout our lives. Internal dialogues while in transit or asleep or in the form of dreams. The pandemic has forced us into that strange, unidentified region of the mind where it seems to function on its own without any guidance,” described Condo of his new works. “The virus turned deadly and its attack amplified the flaws in humanity, the ruthless denigration of people simply for what they look like and where they come from.”

View select pieces for the upcoming “Internal Riot” exhibition above and then visit Hauser & Wirth’s website for more information. The show ill run from November 5 this year until January 23, 2021.

Elsewhere in art, Sotheby’s auction featuring works from the Keith Haring Foundation netted over $4 million USD with proceeds to benefit NYC’s LGBTQ+ center.

Hauser & Wirth
542 W 22nd St.
New York, NY 10011