Entrance to the Mind: Drawings by George Condo in the Morgan Library & Museum

February 24 through May 14, 2023

In 2021, the Morgan acquired twenty-eight drawings by American artist George Condo (b. 1957) that offer an overview of his career over the last forty-five years. Drawing, or "visual thinking" as he calls it, is central to Condo’s practice, which centers around the figure. Engaged in a continuous dialogue with earlier masters, from Rembrandt and Goya to Picasso and de Kooning, Condo uses traditional styles and techniques to create imaginary portraits in which wild distortions suggest extreme psychological states. "Everybody I draw is kind of a lunatic," he acknowledges. Ranging from early drawings made when he was a teenager to recent explorations into what he calls "psychological Cubism," the exhibition will highlight Condo's brilliant draftsmanship through a cast of characters in turn comic, monstrous, tragic, and endearing.

Entrance to the Mind: Drawings by George Condo in the Morgan Library & Museum is made possible with support from Thomas J. Reid and Christina M. Pae, Alyce Williams Toonk, Hauser & Wirth, and the Rita Markus Fund for Exhibitions.

George Condo
Female Portrait, 2003
Colored pencil on paper
17 3/4 x 17 1/4 inches (45.1 x 43.8 cm)
Gift of Anna Nikolayevsky; 2021.102
© George Condo, Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photography by George Condo Studio

Exhibition location: 

Clare Eddy Thaw Gallery