Presenting an arresting portrait of abject domesticity, George Condo’s The Stockbroker from 2002 is a superb example of the artist’s remarkable skill as a puppeteer of the human psyche, showcasing his ability to warp the representational and deftly manipulate the emotional dramas of his subjects and viewers. Standing side-by-side, the seeming couple of the present work are both reflection and caricature of suburbia: while the crisp white shirt, neat tie, and vibrant housedress suggest normality, Condo deftly destabilizes and distorts a classic image to create his own, perfectly warped American Gothic. Speaking directly to the irresistible psychic intensity of the present work, one critic describes: “In his abject portraits of chaste couples such as The Stockbroker, 2002, and Homeless Harlequins, 2004, Condo remains haunted by instability, allowing the characters depicted to level an overly intimate gaze of confrontation and reproach.” (David Rimanelli, “George Condo,” Artforum, April 2011, online) Straddling the line between the familiar and the uncanny, the ludicrous and the exquisite, the present work exemplifies the body of rich pictorial creations have made Condo one of the most inventive and popular artists of his generation.

Invoking countless art historical images of tender couples, The Stockbroker at once recalls and rejects canonical precedent: indeed, Condo's portrait seems to problematize the very genre of portraiture, parodying any attempt at naturalism. This parody is underscored by the strange clown figuring which, clutched in the woman’s tight grip, seems to leer outward at the viewer. Set against a darkened backdrop of richly textured mahogany pigment, the melodramatic lighting of the present work recalls Rembrandt, whose subjects likewise emerge, resplendent, from chiaroscuro depths. Positioned slightly off-center, Condo’s neatly dressed couple meet our gaze through the fractured facial landscape of Cubism, revealing a distorted amalgamation of features. Ultimately, this masterful fusion of multiple pictorial languages has allowed Condo to form his own brand of psychologically charged portraiture. Describing his own approach, the artist reveals: “I believe that painting needs to transform in order for it to become interesting for each and every generation, but I think of it more in terms of being liberated by history. Liberated by what has come before.” (the artist cited in: Ralph Rugoff, “The Enigma of Jean Louis,” in: Exh. Cat., New York, Luhring Augustine Gallery, George Condo: Existential Portraits: Sculpture, Drawings, Paintings 2005-2006, 2006, p. 7)

Peering at the viewer with anxious gazes, the figures of The Stockbroker powerfully exemplify the fascinating style that Condo has termed “Psychological Cubism”: a pictorial mode that emulates Cubism, not in its attempt to show an object from various different angles simultaneously, but by setting to paint the internal and ever-changing emotions of his subjects. The warped visages of the stockbroker and his wife are not abstractions of humanity, but are intended as honest, unedited accounts of the paradoxes and complexities of human nature. The deformity of both figures is tempered by a bittersweet poignancy, their hysterical visages exposing the raw extremes of the psyche to the illuminating light of portraiture. Describing the psychic potency of Condo’s portraits, one critic describes: “Freud’s most enduring legacy is Condo’s as well. The artist’s diverse projects are routed into a salon of disjointed visions, alternately lush with paint and sodden with the weight of mastery and decay.” (David Rimanelli, “George Condo,” Artforum, April 2011, online).

Playfully grotesque and amusingly uncanny, Condo’s paintings allow the viewer to step beyond the borders of our aesthetic maps, forcing us to consider that which we feel and experience before such surreal reflections of our own humanity. The artist describes, “I wanted to capture the characters of these paintings at the extreme height of whatever moment they’re on – in that static moment of chaos – and to picture them as abstract compositions that are set in destitute places and isolated rooms.” (George Condo cited in: Ibid., p. 8) Condo is not just interested in representing the raw realities of the human psyche but the effect that viewing these representations has on the mental state of his audience. Ultimately, as his enigmatic, misshapen man and wife loom from the shadows, Condo urges the viewer to step outside tradition and consider, simultaneously, those aspects of his painting that both delight and repulse us.

Artist

George Condo