THIS WEEK’S MUSE
JOHN CURRIN
“Your style is who you are when you’re not trying to be clever or better than you actually are.”
John Currin has been described as a “modern master.” An artist whose satirical paintings portray sharply observed social scenes and sexual taboos, Currin’s inspirations arrive from classical painters, old-school pinups, pornography, and B movies. His art might be described as the search for the moment at which the beautiful and the grotesque collide.
With a piano teacher mother, a physicist father with a love of art, and two sisters—both musicians—it’s no surprise Currin’s career has been an artistic one. “They always encouraged me to be an artist,” he said. Born in 1960, he studied painting with renowned Ukrainian painter, Lev Meshberg, before attending art college.
“When I went to college, and I went to art school, I started to realize that Warhol was cool and that pop art was fun.”
He became a part of a loose group of artists in New York, connected more by ambition and diversity than by a shared style or artistic philosophy. With an anti-intellectual approach and a determination not to take himself too seriously, he forged a position in New York’s art scene. He still lives, works, and exhibits in the city.
His aesthetic approach can be visually contradictory. He draws on classical tropes of beauty—lounging nudes, Renaissance coloring, classical settings—combining them with contemporary images derived from printed pornographic and fashion magazines. The result is a unique blend of technical precision and realism that’s just enough off-center to be subtly disturbing.
“I’ll make drawings. I literally will grid that onto the canvas. I have a lot of anxiety about composition, so a lot of times, I work from just very, very quick drawings. And I don’t want to change it a lot because I just think it gets worse.”
At first glance, Currin’s art seems realistic figurative portrayals of curious figures or social encounters. Take a closer look and thing changes. The proportions, the geometry, the symmetry; something is wrong, but we can’t quite determine what. The initial pleasure of the voyeurism we think we recognize shifts and turns into discomfort as we are forced to reflect his work against our preconceptions.
“I don’t know how to finish a painting. All I can tell you is how it feels for the painting to be finished.”
It’s a style that marries classic figurative styling with kitsch and caricature. While some critics accuse him of misogyny and objectification, others see him as an important contemporary satirist and moral commentator. Either way, Curran’s work lifts the curtain on our human exploration of vanity.
“Painting is like being a lawyer and attacking a corporation.”
HAPPENING
Tuesday, February 14. 6–8pm
VALENTINE’S DAY DINNER
With Chef Joe Cizynski
Enjoy a special evening with fabulous food!
Member – $85, Non-member – $95