Julie Curtiss creates strikingly surreal artworks that probe femininity and its archetypes through a playful yet unsettling lens. Known for her meticulous figurative paintings and gouache works, Curtiss juxtaposes the mundane with the uncanny, exposing the grotesque and dreamlike undertones of human behaviour. Her fragmented depictions of bodies and symbols – like flowing hair, long nails and high heels – critique traditional notions of beauty and objectification, transforming these elements into powerful and ambiguous icons.
 

Horse Chestnut, 2023, exemplifies Curtiss' exploration of texture and detail. Created for her ‘Bitter Apples’ exhibition at White Cube Hong Kong, it marks her first venture into Japanese woodcut technique. In collaboration with Tokyo's Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints, the work draws on the ukiyo-e tradition to translate her intricate compositions into a tactile medium. The resulting print accentuates Curtiss’ signature crisp outlines, rich textures and layered symbolism, offering an intimate yet disquieting perspective on femininity and power.

 

Julie Curtiss (b. 1982, Paris, France; lives and works in Brooklyn, USA) studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, where she participated in exchange programs at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Dresden, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She graduated in 2006 with a BA and MFA. Recent solo exhibitions have taken place at White Cube, Hong Kong (2023); Anton Kern Gallery, New York (2022, 2020, 2019); White Cube, Mason’s Yard, London (2021); Various Small Fires, Los Angeles (2018); and 106 Green, Brooklyn (2017). Curtiss’ work is represented in several museum collections, among which are Bronx Museum, New York; Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio; High Museum, Atlanta; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and Yuz Museum, Shanghai.