Born in 1982, Paris, France, Curtiss now works in her studio in Brooklyn. Growing up in the east Parisian suburb of Montreuil, a young Curtiss was spoilt for choice by the wealth of museums the capital had to offer. An only child, she spent much of her youth drawing; troubled by bouts of teenage depression, it offered her a therapeutic escape. Her last minute decision to not become an illustrator, but to enroll instead in the École des Beaux-Arts, would lay the path for her present-day success.

At the grande école Curtiss’ interest in the uncanny grew, as her work increasingly began to embrace the creepy and uncomfortable qualities that shine through today. After winning a young artist prize in 2004, and spending a transformative exchange semester in Chicago, it seemed as though stardom was just around the corner. However, it would not be until a 2017 sell-out at the Spring/Break art show that collectors finally began to take notice. After stints working for Kaws and Jeff Koons, Curtiss could now focus her time on her craft.

While many today favour friendly, accessible imagery, Curtiss has remained steadfast in her interest in “the Other”, and in doing so has afforded herself a greater level of expressive freedom. In manipulating the role hair plays in her work, she has created macabre and menacing figures that leave you confused, but craving more. Her playful subversion of feminine archetypes places her in a neo-surrealist canon after artists like Meret Oppenheim and Leonor Fini. Erotically-charged, yet uncanny and grotesque, Curtiss’ work is a feminist restyling of the ever-enduring art movement.

Julie Curtiss: “Art is not propaganda. I’m not sending a message. I want to explore things.”

Julie Curtiss

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Artist

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