The vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Leyla Aliyeva, first viewed the artistic composition in the Center’s park.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the exhibition entitled ‘George Condo: Selections from the private collection’, the director of the Heydar Aliyev Center, Anar Alakbarov, noted that the Center presented a new project. He expressed his gratitude to Leyla Aliyeva, who led the organization of the exhibition at the Heydar Aliyev Center, the project curator Simon de Puri, the owner of the Galeries Karatch and Andrea Karachi’s collection of George Condo’s works presented in Baku. The director pointed out that the whole team worked for 2 years on the realization of this project in Baku.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Leyla Aliyeva, welcomed the guests and said: "Today we participate in the opening of the exhibition of an artist who is distinguished in the United States, with a multifaceted and extravagant style. I am very pleased that we are hosting an exhibition of the artist who pleases me more than anyone else in the world, I am his fan, here, in this beautiful, majestic building. As you know, the author of this building is the architect Zaha Hadid, who achieved incredible fame with her works. We have already organized exhibitions of talented artists and sculptors such as Andy Warhol, Richard Deacon and Bernard Buffay, who are the authors of interesting works, in the Heydar Aliyev Center."
Noting that she discovered the works of George Condo five years ago, Leyla Aliyeva stressed that since then she has been in love with the artist's works. "Because he embodies different styles and feelings that come from the depths of the human soul, real life, emotions, sensations in all the works that he creates. In these works you can see feelings of sadness, happiness, fear, anger and friendship. It is appropriate to note that George Condo does not work usually in one style, in one direction. Usually speaking about his works, it is noted that he uses more methods of cubism, expressionism. However, looking at his works, we see that they reflect many different shades. His work reflects, on the one hand, harmony, and on the other it is the mystery and reality of human dreams, different colors and all the magic moments of the whole world.
Dear friends, thank you for being with us tonight. We express our appreciation to all those who participated in the organization of this exhibition, as well as Andrea Karach and the gallery he heads. I take this opportunity to thank one of my closest friends, Mr. Simon de Puri and his wife. In conclusion I would say that today one of my most cherished desires has сome true in Baku. Today we participate in the opening ceremony of the exhibition of works by George Condo. Thank you all for this. I want to say thank you to all of you. I wish you happiness, good health and love,’’ Leyla Aliyeva said.
The exhibition curator Simon de Puri noted that six months ago, staying with his wife in London, he attended a beautiful exhibition organized by Leyla Aliyeva. "At this exhibition, the theme of which was devoted to the environment and ecology, we met Leila Aliyeva. Among the works presented at the exhibition there were works of George Condo. During the meeting Leyla Aliyeva noted that George Condo is one of her most loved artists in the world. And we decided that it would be good to organize an exhibition of works by George Condo in Baku, since we are his fans,’’ he said. Simon de Puri stressed that participation in today's ceremony allows them to get acquainted with the works of other artists. Leyla Hanum is an artist herself. She is a very close to the world of the artistic person. She is distinguished by love for the art world, a knowledge of this sector.
The curator Simon de Puri said Andrea Karach owns a collection of works by George Condo. He has been collating this collection for a long time. According to S. de Puri, the Heydar Aliyev Center is the most beautiful building yet created in the 21st century. Zaha Hadid herself also noted that this project is the most beautiful work she had created throughout her career. Baku is a city that is always distinguished by its dynamic life. There is constantly a variety of events. Baku is one of the cities which makes a huge impression.
The guest said that the works of Azerbaijani artists of the 1960s, Dzhavad Mirdzhavadov, Rasim Babayev and others, were very successfully exhibited at the Venice Biennale. At the exhibition at the Heydar Aliyev Center we can see the similarities between the works of George Condo and the works of the Azerbaijani artists.
Simon de Puri expressed gratitude to Leyla Aliyeva for the organization of the exhibition.
A ribbon was cut as a symbol of the opening of the exhibition and the guests got acquainted with the exposition.
George Condo was born in 1957 in the US city of Concord, New Hampshire. In 1976-1978 he studied at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
As a newcomer in the world of art in New York in 1980, George Condo investigated the portrait genre, inspired by American cartoons, portraits of European history and Greek mythology, he creates works full of black humor in his own recognizable style. Condo’s paintings connect expressionism and cubism with the qualities of satirical cartoons. The creativity of George Condo includes a variety of works from large bronze sculptures to imaginary portraits. George Condo created the term "artificial realism" for his work.
George Condo is known as a painter who is also engaged in sculpture. His transition to sculpture took place in 1999, when he created an object decorated with rubies, diamonds and pearls, entitled Desireah.
The hybrid nature of the portraits of George Condo took a new turn in 2007. The artist has created a series of paintings, in which each of the figures expresses a variety of emotions and expressions at the same time, such as, for example, surprise, shouting and laughing.
Exhibitions of the artist have taken place in the US cities of Houston, New York and Buffalo, and in the European cities of Salzburg, Paris, Barcelona, London and Bielefeld.
The exhibition ‘George Condo: Selections from the private collection’, organized in the Heydar Aliyev Center, will last until November 6th.
