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Lot Essay
One of the most celebrated artists of his generation, John Currin effectively revived the moribund art of figurative painting with his unparalleled technical virtuosity. Currin testified to the validity of, not just the act of painting, but also of representational painting-an idea that was completely out of fashion at the time. Deeply invested in the history of art, Currin's innovation rests not in the modernization of the Old Masters but in investing the contemporary with the gravitas of history painting. "I believe in the old idea of technique," Currin told the New York Times. "I believe you need it if you're going to have magic and genius and masterpieces. No one would question the value of technique in any other field. No one would say that a tennis player would be better if only he could stop hitting the ball.'' (J. Currin, "Mr. Bodacious," New York Times, November 16, 2003.) His work is almost always a mash-up of art historical heavy weights leavened with the lighthearted kitsch of popular imagery or the taboo of pornography. In characterizing the "collision of naked, real-life women and old-master nudes," art historian Robert Rosenblum argues that Currin's "fusion of venerable past and vulgar present comes out as a perfect hybrid that lives in both worlds." (R. Rosenblum, "John Currin and the American Grotesque", in J. Currin, et. al., John Currin, exh. cat., Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, New York, 2003, p.15).
Disregarding the trend for artists in the early 1990s to produce photography or video based art Currin pursued his interest in figurative painting. Along with like-minded contemporary artists Lisa Yuskavage, Jenny Saville and Elizabeth Peyton, a revival of figuration has slowly surfaced. Currin's style of figurative painting combines tradition with a contemporary twist. The artist's awareness of the historical tradition of painting including Leonardo da Vinci, Lucas Cranach, Francois Boucher, Jean-Honor Fragonard, and Antoine Courbet is clear but old fashioned magazines and "girlie" catalogues such as
Cosmopolitan and Modern Man are equally important points of departure for Currin.
In the present work, Brinda, Currin depicts a young, long haired girl set on a somber gray background. The girl's willowy hair cascades down her shoulders creating a curtain which frames her delicate features. The subject's downward shifting gaze is reminiscent of old master portraiture by the likes of Sir Peter Paul Rubens. Currin draws inspiration from the tradition and history of portraiture, but unlike traditional portraiture the subject's clothes and jewelry -visual representations of status symbols-are not portrayed. Contemporary art enthusiasts may have been suspicious of figurative painting initially but Currin has made viewers re-evaluate this notion. Viewers have realized that it is not the existence of figuration that makes them uncomfortable; it is the fact that Currin's paintings force the audience to question assumptions of class, race and predisposed ideas of sexuality and gender roles.
Disregarding the trend for artists in the early 1990s to produce photography or video based art Currin pursued his interest in figurative painting. Along with like-minded contemporary artists Lisa Yuskavage, Jenny Saville and Elizabeth Peyton, a revival of figuration has slowly surfaced. Currin's style of figurative painting combines tradition with a contemporary twist. The artist's awareness of the historical tradition of painting including Leonardo da Vinci, Lucas Cranach, Francois Boucher, Jean-Honor Fragonard, and Antoine Courbet is clear but old fashioned magazines and "girlie" catalogues such as
Cosmopolitan and Modern Man are equally important points of departure for Currin.
In the present work, Brinda, Currin depicts a young, long haired girl set on a somber gray background. The girl's willowy hair cascades down her shoulders creating a curtain which frames her delicate features. The subject's downward shifting gaze is reminiscent of old master portraiture by the likes of Sir Peter Paul Rubens. Currin draws inspiration from the tradition and history of portraiture, but unlike traditional portraiture the subject's clothes and jewelry -visual representations of status symbols-are not portrayed. Contemporary art enthusiasts may have been suspicious of figurative painting initially but Currin has made viewers re-evaluate this notion. Viewers have realized that it is not the existence of figuration that makes them uncomfortable; it is the fact that Currin's paintings force the audience to question assumptions of class, race and predisposed ideas of sexuality and gender roles.