Year: 1984
Medium: oil on canvas, in artist’s frame
Dimensions: canvas size: 30.5 x 24.1 cm (12 x 9 1/2 in.) / frame size: 40 x 34 cm (15 3/4 x 13 3/8 in.)
Acquired from Phillips, 2023
Atop a hill, a towering edifice suddenly materializes with a white clown-like visage floating in its center. Could the orange candy-esque substance—appearing as if it could engulf the town at any second—possibly be his torso? Clouds appear to be hovering around the hill resembling a shelf, yet they exude a firm texture more liquid than gaseous. From the depths of the background, something akin to a smoke signal extends skyward, appearing like droplets flowing upwards instead of down, further accentuating the whimsicality within the painting. The artist himself also attached the artwork’s antiquated decorative frame. Within the realm of contemporary art, context holds great significance. Condo wields a profound knowledge of context, and harnesses it with ease, even toying with it at times, in a transgressive manner that interacts with the conventions of fine art. Such is the case in this work, where there are stylistic references to art movements of the past, including Surrealism, Realism, Post-impressionism or Symbolism, all presented in a similarly referential frame.
