George Condo: Mental States

Saw the George Condo exhibition, Mental States' at the Hayward. These dark and wild paintings are truly 'grotesque'. All of the portraits are genuinely frightening - or at least very disturbing - I think because they are so odd but so familiar at the same time. It feels as if they might be 'funny', but you wouldn't laugh, the characters are too tortured. The different framings add to the idea of a curated portrait collection gathered from wealthy collectors which I guess is exactly what they now are! There's a film of George Condo talking about the work and giving a bit of insight on the Guardian Website.