Provocative Painter John Currin, Interviewed

In Washington, DC for the Paint Made Flesh show at the Phillips Collection, figurative painter John Currin talked to Express contributor Amy Cavanaugh about his work. Currin finds similarities between flesh and paint, but states that flesh is difficult to render in paint. He prefers painting the female figure because he rather look at women and considers them better subjects for conveying narratives. Pop culture influences him more than other artists and he thinks that pop culture idols nowadays all want to look like teenagers. Mining Danish pornography for the past several years, Currin is currently working on a series of nudes that use the referenced imagery in a reflective way.