John Currin

John Currin was born in 1962 in Boulder, Colorado, and he earned his BFA from Carnegie Mellon University followed by an MFA from Yale University. He currently lives and works in New York. Currin's work is influenced by a wide range of artistic currents, incorporating references to oil paintings from the Renaissance, 1950s magazine advertisements, and contemporary politics. Known for his female portraits, the women in Currin's art often embody a distorted beauty, serving as a parody of "politically correct" ideals.

What stands out in Currin's painting today is his extraordinary mastery of oil technique, which is employed in a meticulous and calligraphic style. Through these images, he tackles socially provocative themes, ranging from sexuality to pornography, as well as mundane scenes of daily life, all filtered through a comedic and ironic lens that highlights the grotesque aspects of contemporary civilization. When asked in 2003 if his work began as a reaction, Currin replied, “Yes, and deliberately. The context I was operating in was the early 1990s, when it was very easy to use the artistic reception freedom of people who felt responsible for responding positively to different forms of installation and performance. And it was very easy to laugh at the desire to be progressive.”

In the Iannaccone collection, there are two works by Currin: an untitled drawing from 1995 and a charcoal drawing from 2001 depicting a young woman named Anita Joy. Initially thought to be a close acquaintance of the artist—perhaps a girlfriend or a friend—research has revealed no information regarding the identity of this mysterious girl. Attention then turned to photographic portraits of famous women from the 1950s and 60s that inspired Currin's work. This led to the discovery of an image of the beautiful and popular Anita Ekberg, known for her role in Fellini's iconic film La dolce vita (1960).

In this photograph, the actress’s expression, smile, and forced pose capture her “divine aura,” closely resembling the depicted girl, who was perhaps intentionally named Anita. The word “Joy” in English evokes feelings of happiness and delight, emotions that seem absent from the drawn face. These sentiments, which rarely stem from success, wealth, or fame—common traits of the Hollywood world to which Ekberg belonged—are difficult to coexist with. This suggests that Currin engages in a subtle yet evident wordplay, critiquing and satirizing contemporary society and its values.