John Currin: Œuvres / Works 1989–1995

The first substantial catalogue of John Currin's painting, issued at the moment his work crossed from downtown notoriety to European institutional attention.

Produced by the Fonds Régional d'Art Contemporain Limousin in Limoges for Currin's 1995 exhibition there, the bilingual French and English paperback covers six years of work: the yearbook-derived portraits of 1989, the middle-aged women that first made his reputation, and the early elongated nudes. Frédéric Paul and Keith Seward supply the texts (Seward's essay is titled 'Boomerang') alongside thirty-two colour plates, a list of illustrations, a list of works and a bio-bibliography. The show was reviewed by Jean-Yves Jouannais in Art Press.

Currin (b. Boulder, Colorado, 1962) began showing with Andrea Rosen Gallery in New York in 1992, and 1995 brought exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London and at Donald Young and Jack Hanley on the American west coast alongside the Limoges presentation. The technical polish and provocations that followed (the Gagosian years, the explicit paintings of the 2000s) are already visible here in outline.