{"data":{"id":"3563","type":"artist","attributes":{"id":3563,"topgoose_id":2688,"tms_id":3563,"display_name":"John Currin","sort_name":"Currin John","display_date":"1962–","begin_date":"1962","end_date":"0","biography":"\u003cp\u003eSince beginning to paint in the late 1980s, John Currin has remained exclusively engaged with the practice of figurative painting—specifically portraiture. He came to prominence during the 1990s with a body of work comprised of single and group portraits, frequently containing sexualized, even campy imagery and drawing on influences as varied as Old Master painting and fashion imagery. During this period Currin emerged as part of a larger group of painters, including Luc Tuymans and \u003ca href=\"/artists/8317\"\u003eElizabeth Peyton\u003c/a\u003e, who were revitalizing the practice of figuration and portraiture.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAround 1990 Currin began to make paintings of women depicted alone against monochromatic backgrounds, often basing his portraits on found photographs that he would modify into invented compositions. As the artist has said of these figures, “The people I paint don’t exist. The only thing that’s real is the painting.” For \u003ca href=\"/collection/works/8028\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eSkinny Woman\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e,\none of a group of portraits of older women,\nCurrin began with a photograph of a Twyla\nTharp dancer, borrowing the figure’s\ndramatic, contrapposto pose but drastically\nmodifying the original image. Currin routinely\ndraws from his immediate surroundings—\nin this instance incorporating the clothing he\nwas wearing in the studio while working\non the painting. He also frequently includes\nelements of his own body in the portraits,\nexplaining that “I incorporate my face, hands,\nand backs in the figures. . . . I basically\nproject myself onto everything rather than\nreveal a lot about other people.”\u003c/p\u003e","on_view":false,"artport":false,"biennial":true,"collection":true,"ulan_id":"500114618","wikidata_id":"Q707675","created_at":"2017-08-30T17:32:44.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-04-13T07:04:51.284-04:00","links":{"artworks":"/api/artists/3563/artworks","exhibitions":"/api/artists/3563/exhibitions"}}}}