BRUCE CONNER (1933-2008)

The present Geryon, from 1956, stands as an intricately-articulated work on paper from a pivotal period in Bruce Conner’s career. Christian mysticism, the influence of William Blake and Dante’s Inferno, in particular, acted as key influences on Conner’s oeuvre at this time. Conner created this early rendition of the Geryon subject (which he would continue to explore, in later lithographs as well), at the young age off 22. 1956 involved an array of change for Conner, with moves from Wichita, Kansas, to the Brooklyn Museum Art School, to Colorado for post-graduate studies with Jean Sandstedt, his future wife. All of this occurred before Conner’s move to San Francisco the following year (1957).
 
The subject creature in this masterful Geryon is the son of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe, and the grandson of Medusa, in Greek mythology. Geryon is often referred to as a giant with human faces, sometimes depicted with three-faces or three-heads.