American, b. 1962
John Currin (b. 1962, Colorado) is an American painter best known for his satirical figurative paintings, revealing distortions of the human figure and critiques of societal ideals of beauty. He attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and received his MFA from Yale University. Currin’s work draws upon a broad range of cultural influences that include Renaissance oil paintings, 1950s women’s magazine advertisements, and contemporary politics. In the 1990s, Currin was among a wave of artists, including Cecily Brown, Jenny Saville, John Sonsini, and others, with a renewed interest in portraiture.
Currin’s early works stylized high school yearbook photographs, showing young and old women alike in awkward poses against nondescript backgrounds of leaden, matte colors. The most famous works in this series are Bea Arthur Naked, 1991, and Nadine Gordimer, 1992, both stark portrayals mixing conventional portraiture with caricature. Later Currin transitioned to depicting aging socialites and mismatched couples in moments of superficial, domestic levity.
Often returning to his early styles and themes, Currin, however, has been critically regarded for his contemporary renditions of old master poses and formats, apparent in his works of the late 1990s. Often rife with art historical references and suggestions, Currin’s paintings frequently conflate opposing sensibilities—vaulted taste with vulgarity, sentimentality with irony, conventional beauty with banality.
Currin lives and works in New York. He is represented by Gagosian Gallery.
Currin’s early works stylized high school yearbook photographs, showing young and old women alike in awkward poses against nondescript backgrounds of leaden, matte colors. The most famous works in this series are Bea Arthur Naked, 1991, and Nadine Gordimer, 1992, both stark portrayals mixing conventional portraiture with caricature. Later Currin transitioned to depicting aging socialites and mismatched couples in moments of superficial, domestic levity.
Often returning to his early styles and themes, Currin, however, has been critically regarded for his contemporary renditions of old master poses and formats, apparent in his works of the late 1990s. Often rife with art historical references and suggestions, Currin’s paintings frequently conflate opposing sensibilities—vaulted taste with vulgarity, sentimentality with irony, conventional beauty with banality.
Currin lives and works in New York. He is represented by Gagosian Gallery.
