Fine Arts: John Currin at DHC/ART

...the sensual curves fall a bit flat...

I first heard of John Currin in one of my many painting classes.  I always associated him with distorted proportions, particularly the image of elongated necks comes to mind. 

He also happened to be featured in this Art Now anthology I've had since 2005, and I somehow remembered his profile pic because, well, he's quite good-looking.  LOL

That was my previous exposure to John Currin, and I had yet to see any of his work in real life. Until now. (actually, a few weeks ago to be more precise)

My friend and I ventured to the Old Port to DHC/ART.  The gallery also exhibited the strange sculptures of de Bruyckere, but I'll just concentrate on Currin since painting is my forte.

To be frank and blunt: I was dissapointed.  I'm a lover of paint and materials, and I was honestly not blown away.  The images look great in books and even online: his colours, the contrast, composition, are no doubt effective.  However, when viewing work in real life, I expect something more.   Somehow, I didn't feel that extra layer of lush intensity in his paint.  Despite his excellent rendering, the paint fell flat.  But moreover, I suppose I'm not a big fan of his subject matter. It was bizarre, but not in the enticing way.  Some of it was VERY pornographic, and that's fine... but it didn't push my intellect buttons too hard. Nor did it stimulate me, so I wasn't all that impressed. I guess to each, their own!

There were however some jewels that I really enjoyed.  His older works on the first floor were however more solid (in my opinion, of course!) We weren't allowed to take photographs, but here's an idea of his older aesthetic.

Skinny Woman, 1992

Another work that I've seen prior and did enjoy in real life is:

Rachel in Fur, 2002

It was small but compelling. As a portrait, it really drew me in. When a painting is able to have that sort of effect on a person, I think it's very successful.  I couldn't help but stare and wonder about the person in the portrait; I was acknowledging her as an individual and not just a face in a painting.

My friend and I also took some time analysing this painting:

Thanksgiving Wenches, 2003

I remember that the highligts on the woman's shirt were very well done (the paint sat on the top layer). But aside from that, my art history buddy enjoyed the many elements he put into this artwork. 


Conclusion

Maybe I just had higher expectations, but I wasn't blown away. The gallery itself was cool! It stood on 4 floors, the space was more intimate and the lighting was a bit off in certain areas, but all in all, I liked the posh space more than the work on the walls...

John Currin at DHC/ART runs from June  30th 2011- November 13th 2011. Check it out soon to see for yourself!