Julie Curtiss (artist)
Julie Curtiss (artist)
Personal Life
Curtiss was born in 1982 in France to a Vietnamese father and a mother of French descent. Julie does not come from an artistic background, though her father was an excellent cook and instilled a deep love of art and food in Julie. In an interview with the European publication Metal magazine, Julie recalled her the cuisine of her childhood,[7]
"Also, my dad was the family cook, he was amazing at it; food is central to Vietnamese culture.
Scarcity plays an important role as to why my dad – and many of his generation – have an obsession with food.
I believe so much of my food paintings are about this complex and sometimes fraught relationship with food.
Vietnamese equate food with love.
I love my dad’s cooking so much and miss it dearly in my life as an adult."
She resided in Tokyo Japan after graduating from École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in 2006, then moved to New York after marrying contemporary artist Clinton King. The couple met while attending the Art Institute of Chicago and have been featured together in two art exhibitions in Tokyo, Japan in 2007. The two are now based out of their home in Brooklyn, New York.[1][6]
Education
Julie attended the Hochschule für Bildende Künste (also referred to as the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts) in Dresden in 2004 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 2006 she went to school in the United States at the Art Institute of Chicago and attained another Bachelor of Arts degree. In the same year, 2006, she received her Master of Fine Arts degree from École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris.[5]
Career
Julie Curtiss, Princess (2016)
The guest, 2018 Acrylic, vinyl and oil on canvas, 40”X30”
Feast, 2018 Acrylic and oil on canvas, 18”X24”
Carapace, 2017 Acrylic on canvas, 26"X20"
Curtiss' art has been featured in exhibitions at galleries around the globe for over a decade.
She was first featured at a gallery exhibition in 2003 at the Pat Andrea studio in France.
Other venues that Julie's artwork has been showcased include galleries in Tokyo, Boston, New York City, Michigan, England, Seoul, Florida, and California.[1]
Julie got a gig at the studio of artist KAWS in 2011, helping the newly famous artist paint by hand.
Working at the studio resulted in KAWS sharing her work on his Instagram, giving her a new set of followers. On working with KAWS and painting in the studio, Julie stated in an interview published on December 19, 2019 by Artnet,[11]
"His work is really anal, it was so hard to make.
But he really made me a more skilled and better painter.
And the flat backgrounds, the shadows—I never did shadows in my work before working with him.”
Artistic Style and Inspirations
Julie's paintings are surreal with feminine elements like painted nails, hair and accessories. Her mediums are mostly acrylic and oil on canvas or gouache on paper. Curtiss' style is similar to American artist Christina Ramberg.[62]
She is very interested in the psychological factors of thoughts and art, stating in an interview,[7]
"I’ve always been attracted to the powerful way images convey complex thoughts, even opposed ideas, seamlessly.
My favourite class at school was Art Psychoanalysis, based on Jungian principles.
Around the same time I studied Jung, I started paying even closer attention to my dreams, my inner world, and tried to see how I could incorporate that material and that language into my art."
Curtiss' work is very texturized.
She has stated in an interview in February of 2019,[63]
“I want you to touch it with your eyes -- the tactile, the primal.”
Auction
In May of 2019 a Julie Curtiss piece made its debut at a contemporary art auction. Her 2016 piece 'Princess' sold at an astounding price of $106,250 to a buyer from the Middle East. The painting was originally estimated to sell between $6,000-8,000. The piece is an oil on canvas portrait of the back of a woman's head, her hair in two buns similar to the style of Princess Leia.[60][11]
“I was thinking, it’s scary, and I’m not making a buck on this.
When you see those works that are recycled so fast, and you look at how much a piece generated versus the amount of money I made on it, it’s almost funny.
It’s tragicomic.”
Following the sale of 2016's 'Princess', the value of Curtiss' paintings increased at auction.
Her painting 'Paus De Trois' (2018) sold for $423,000 at a Christies art auction in November of 2019.
In the primary market that same painting alongside two other Curtiss originals had sold for $10,000.
At that same November 2019 auction, all three pieces had sold for around $1.1 million-an increase in value of over 10,000 percent.[11]
Julie, though humbled by the experience is troubled by the inflated price of her art.
She stated her desire to have an established career as an artist,[11]
“I’m very lucky and I’m aware of it, because there was nothing before, and I know how that is.
But I’m also a bit worried.
I don’t want to be a flash in the pan.
I want to have a sustainable career.
I don’t want this to be this big inflation—and then a collapse.”
Awards
Over the years Julie has accumulated many awards and recognitions for her artwork.
She has also worked at studios for artists Jeff Koons and KAWS.[11]
Awards and Residencies that Curtiss received are:[1]
| Year | Program | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Louis Vuitton Moet Henessy's Young Artists Award | France |
| 2010 | Painting Residency Jose Cordero Garcia | Dominican Republic |
| 2012 | Immigrant Artists Program | New York Foundation for the Art |
| 2013 | Residency Program | Contemporary Art Center at Woodside, NY |
| 2017 | Saltonstall Arts Colony Residency program | Saltonstall, NY |
| 2018 | Fellow of the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program | Brooklyn, NY |