George Condo at the Hayward Gallery

The George Condo 'Mental States' exhibition at the Hayward Gallery is the American artist's first major retrospective, featuring 80 works split into three sections: Portraiture, Mania and Melancholia and Abstract-Figuration.

I suggest banishing those early winter blues before the exhibition closes next month by visiting some charming, humorous oddities like this cookie monster-type character portrait.  Stare at it long enough and you'll laugh.  His mental state is cheerful.

Red Antipodular Portrait, 1996 Oil on canvas, 152.4 x 121.9cm

Condo's art is rooted in the traditional painting style but his subject matter is very much modern, inspired by 20th-century comics, cartoons and his crazy imagination.

The Hayward is also showcasing Pippilotti Rist's 'Eyeball Massage' exhibition, which is immersive, mesmerising and downright mental.  Both are a must-see.

George Condo: Mental States, the Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre

18 October 2011 - 8 January 2012