Mental States @ Hayward Gallery – London

£10 for your daily nightmare may seem a bit expensive but as Mr Condo puts himself, the more disgusted you feel when looking at his paintings, the more attracted you are.

George Condo’s “Metal States” brings the first major retrospective of the American artist after visiting the New Museum in New York and the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam last summer. Now in London (and before traveling to Frankfurt next February) the Hayward Gallery brings the  first major survey of paintings and sculptures from the past twenty-eight years of the artist’s career.

80 perversions that allow the human being’s inner demons go out… very Goyaesque… with a contemporary update. He calls it “Artificial Realism” and has certainly become one of the biggest influences for new generations.  Questioning and contemplating the underpinnings of our society, Condo provokes but equally engages with the viewer mixing recognisable traditional artist’s styles with 20th century cartoon humor.

And if by the end of the exhibition (2nd level of the Hayward Gallery) your inner ego says “enough”, you always have the relaxing video art of Pipilotti Rist on the ground floor, a few nice flowers and beautiful naked bodies will quickly make you forget the underworld you’ve just seen. The best thing is that you still have more than 2 months to visit… for whenever you’re in need of a good nightmare.