Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Condon lives and works in Paris. A departure from Australia proved a catalyst for the trajectory of the artist’s work, this cultural shift generated a focus on French museum collections, objects and subjects.
Condon’s work draws a parallel between European art history and contemporary art practice, revealed through the rendering of historical subject matter. His process begins by surveying museum collections on site, with intimate observation of artworks, navigation guided by an interest in specific themes and time periods in art history. Reference ideas are documented through detailed photography or preliminary sketches, an approach allowing Condon’s visual language to unfold in the studio. A transposition occurs between the collection and the construction of Condon’s paintings, an interplay resulting in the emergence of curatorial and historical narrative and dialogues.
Condon’s painterly gestures are delicate and considered, imbued with luscious qualities in their rendition of form, picking out highlights and shadows in the paint as if he was drawing. Medium and subject matter echo one another, the artist working with the most traditional handmade oil paint on linen and drawing on French fine art papers.
Napoleonic and military portraits communicate an appreciation and connoisseurship of classical approaches, structurally infused with evocative mark making. The result is an unveiling of Condon’s fascination with ornate, decorative details, encompassed within his curated collection.
Condon’s series of en plein air paintings allow us to perceive the range of historic styles of painting the artist employs. Colour palettes are mixed instinctively and fragments of fleeting or fading light captured with immediacy, framing passing moments within the landscape.
This selection of works offers a window into the artist’s oeuvre. A cabinet of curiosities within this contemporary framework, the artworks form a series of personal postcards, or letters from Paris, capturing a glimpse into the world that this painter inhabits and his experiences therein.
