Clown

Clown, alongside George Condo’s two other works of the same year, Laughing Clown Composition and The Insane Clown, depicts a clown. In this work the figure has some resemblance to what the viewer might associate with a clown. Bright blue hair, a large nose, and an elaborate hat. However, even these tropes are subverted by Condo. One would typically expect a clown to don a red nose. In this instance the nose is green.

This work stands out in contrast to the two other clown works. Both Laughing Clown Composition and Insane Clown are monochrome etchings of densely busy compositions. The hatching in them creates this cluttered effect. Alternatively, in this work, Clown, the free space that is occupied by a hazy purple background is unsettling. The lone figure, looking plainly forward, creates an uneasy and eerie feeling. This is typical of Condo’s work that often seeks to unsettle. For instance, Clown might be compared to Condo’s painting Kanye West’s Big Mouth. Both depict the sitter frontally before a hazy single coloured background. Both appear to play on the ridiculous, unsettling the viewer.