Two weeks ago, I spontaneously took a trip to Pittsburgh, PA to view the current exhibition at the Frick: "Seeking the Ideal," a collection of works by Charles Courtney Curran. I first was introduced to Curran when I was working at Mary Ran Gallery this past summer, and we acquired a small painting he'd done. The piece was tiny, practically miniature at 5 x 7 inches, and the scene was simple: it depicted a nude woman, half in moonlit water, frontally facing the viewer with her long and flowing hair.
I was entirely captivated by this painting. During the afternoons at the gallery, I'd often prop it out where I could look at it from my desk while answering the phones or taking inventory. I was obsessed with the beauty of the moonlight and delicate handling of the pale and illuminated features off the women's flesh. Her pale skin reflected the cool blues and murky greens from the water and foliage behind her, and I was absorbed in the boldness with which the painter had placed those colors throughout her body, so deliberately and so confidently.
Naturally, when Mary, the gallery owner, purchased a copy of catalogue of the Curran show coming to the Pittsburgh museum (several months prior to the show's opening, at this point), I became obsessed. The placement of his figures. The handling of his landscape. The unique color palette. The delicate rendering of backlit scenes in the garden and the fields. The careful attention to detail but effortless mark. Pouring over the pictures in the book, I vowed to attend the show as soon as I could make it, despite the several hours of driving or my hectic work schedule.
Sure enough, I found myself with an open weekend just two days after the show opened. I took my chance and was so, so glad that I did.
It is hard to describe the way I felt walking into the exhibit. I was overcome with awe, more than anything. I truly marveled, and found myself in such wonder that I seemed to stop thinking, stop analyzing. I simply absorbed, looked on, looked in. I feel a deep intimacy with Curran's work, and doesn't entirely have to do with the work itself. It has a great deal more to do with, as the title of the show suggests, a "seeking of the ideal."
I have a feeling I'll have plenty more to say about Curran in the future, so I may pause here, and offer more on the subject as I continue to discover my new relationship with this fascinating collection of works.
