Last evening, John Currin arrived at 7 PM exactly, and was swept up to the podium to deliver an enlightening and engaging talk to a packed house. With a visual presentation, he walked us through his work in a chronological fashion, from his early experiments to the development and maturation of his own way.

Currin peppered his talk with often hilarious anecdotes and observations about his process, the content of the work and what drives it all to come about proving himself to be a highly skilled ironist, both on canvas and in person. During the question and answer period it became clear that Currin’s paintings are still touching nerves, which is all the better for the ongoing examination and questioning of ideas such as the male gaze, contemporary sexuality, eroticism, representation, media and yes, even painting.

Cheryl Sim
Assistant Curator