NEW YORK, NY.- Christie's announced Between Madness and Beauty: Selections from the Anna Condo Collection—a group of 27 exceptional paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by living icon George Condo, which will be offered as a dedicated single-owner sale session during the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale, the final live auction of Spring Marquee Week of Sales taking place on May 21 at Rockefeller Center. The works come from the personal collection of Anna Condo, multidisciplinary artist who was married to George Condo from 1989 through 2017.

During the time the two were together, Anna Condo recalls, “George's work was never static. I watched him move between chaos and control, figuration and abstraction, navigating the tension between beauty and distortion. There is a deep dialogue with art history, but not in a nostalgic way, rather through constant reinvention, shaped by his own psyche. In the earlier works, you feel a certain rawness, an urgency, loud and youthful, almost rock star in spirit. As time went on, the works became more deliberate, more mature. Within this collection, you can see that progression clearly. Some works hold that early intensity, while others show a kind of mastery that comes from years of exploration. Together, they map a journey, not just of style, but of emotion.”

Each of the artworks offered within the auction represent a different chapter and a particular set of memories for Anna. Among the many highlights is a large-scale painting from 2001, that she feels is akin to a modern-day Lautrec cabaret scene, conveying a harmonious sense of musicality, “a kind of improvisation where everything holds together while constantly shifting,” much like the style of jazz. Another work that highlights a more subdued emotional response is an acrylic and pastel on paper, which Anna states, “makes me think of Picasso's women, somewhere between sleeping and reading—suspended in a moment.” A sculptural highlight in the sale, Rodrigo and the Maid reminds Anna of their early years in France together, as when the two first met, the artist had already begun to work in bronze and would take her to the Clementi foundry in Meudon. This example from 2008 represents a remarkable evolution of his sculptural practice, with a particularly visceral New York narrative.

Born in Armenia in the 1960s and raised in France, Anna Condo was surrounded by art in all its forms throughout childhood. Informed by her family's many creative pursuits, she was formally trained across a range of disciplines, with seven years at a music conservatory, classes in modern dance, and accolades in visual art, theater and performance. In 1988, Anna met the contemporary artist George Condo in Paris, first at a cafe in the spring, and then months later at a nightclub. Over a shared passion of art and great food, the two quickly developed a passionate relationship, flying straight to Montauk to visit Julian Schnabel who was staying on Andy Warhol's compound at the time. From then on, Anna and George became an item that would last for nearly three decades.

During the years of their marriage, Anna befriended canonical creatives who came to define the era, including Allen Ginsberg, who she met at a dinner hosted by Francesco Clemente, and developed a lifelong friendship with. She was also quite close with Keith Haring, of whom she recalls, “there was an immediacy, a generosity, a way of making art and living life that was completely open and free. I loved him very much.” The bonds of friendship Anna forged over the course of this period were deeply formative and continue to influence and inform her life today. She remarks, “Sharing a life with another artist can't help but shape you. It would be impossible otherwise. There are shared sensibilities, a certain way of seeing things, appreciating similar art. Witnessing George's dedication to art above all things, his incessant drive to create, his curiosity for so many different art styles and periods, and his fearless experimentation and reinvention, that was always inspiring.”