There are some artists whose work is almost as recognisable as your own face, others maybe your own handwriting. Some artists whose work has an indefinable quality & you can’t work out what it is. Other artists are instantly recognisable & you know exactly why. Van Gogh for instance – no-one else really got it done like Vincent. All those brushstrokes & all that heavy paint – you can tell him a mile off without really thinking.
Another such artist is Ken Currie (b. 1960). Though nothing like Vincent in style or look, you can always tell it’s him. With Ken, there’s a clear acknowledgement of everything in art history that’s gone before; the tradition & the familiarity draws you in. There’s phenomenal chiaroscuro, figures & objects looming out of dark backgrounds & an attention to realistic portrayal that feels long-established & painterly.
But no. Ken Currie isn’t like other artists.
There’s a definable something & I’m trying not to say it too soon because it’s so obvious…
Radical Wars...Let Truth & Justice Be Woven Together, Liberty is Our Fabric (1986-87)
Ken Currie has appeared in the blog before: as one of the 100 Great Artists series, the Aberdeen Art Gallery refurbishment entry, the still life list & a Hallowe’en one (the last might give it away a little).
First though, a little about the man himself.
From Story From Glasgow Series (1989)
Politically motivated since his early artistic life, he championed the dockside workers of Glasgow where he was brought up. A Glasgow School of Art graduate, he was quickly associated with other artists working & studying in Glasgow at the same time. The establishment is always looking for a new “movement” where there probably isn’t one, trying to make connections that are tenuous at best & they were unimaginatively dubbed “The New Glasgow Boys.” His works are exhibited in various settings such as the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, The National Library of Scotland & the People’s Palace as well as others across the world.
War Worries (1991)
Once his name was established, he was perhaps inevitably commissioned to make portraits, but there aren’t many. The ones that exist are of course astonishing, true to life & moving for instance Peter Higgs & Sue Black.
Despite not primarily being a portrait painter, his works are nevertheless concerned with human beings. Whether it’s one of his political works or exploring various aspects of the altered human body, they’re about the business of being a person.
Unfamiliar Reflection (2006)
Many of his works describe in paint the illness, decay, change or disintegration of the physical self. It’s as if he’s trying to reach other realms by investigating the physicality of a body. Whether he agrees or not, the figures often appear ethereal or otherworldly. In other works it might seem as if he’s searching for meaning in the ageing process, trying to make sense of it. We all have the fear of our minds being clear & well, whilst our body deteriorates, yet we also have the fear of physical wellbeing whilst the brain & mind break down. This all appears in his oeuvre. Sometimes Ken paints without a human visible in the image, but there are objects or items or atmospheres that suggest one is being represented…or has just left.
Gallowgate Lard (1995)
A lot of the work he is known for & that I like best is downright CREEPY. It is disturbing, disrupting & completely enthralling. There, I’ve said it now. “Gallowgate Lard” in Aberdeen Art Gallery is one of the most memorable paintings I’ve ever seen. Although it’s featured in a blog before, I feel it needs to be revisited. I’ve seen people of all ages approach it, say aloud, “Ewwww,” or “Ooohhhh,” sometimes say, “Why is it called THAT?” & you know it’ll stick in their minds if they don’t immediately try to forget about it. It’s a larger than life head, the skin is ghostly pale & luminous & the eyes are small & deadened yet looking right into you. The lips are pulled back to reveal the teeth & gums without the help of hands or fingers & the skin is vividly reddened in places to the point it looks painful. There are a number of paintings that look very similar to this super close-up head. He’s like the well-adjusted artist child of Caravaggio & Francis Bacon.
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Tragic Form (Skate) (2014)
Ken will place himself into certain works, sometimes in the centre, sometimes to represent a vessel for his thoughts or feelings, sometimes to connect with or represent the viewer. In these works he’s one of us. Where necessary, he doesn’t shy away from confronting us with a stare, challenging us to feel as he does or consider our own place in the universe.
Although he has worked in different styles & in a variety of media, some of his work from the 1980s pieces have a unique feeling & a clearly developed style. They also serve a different purpose, as commentary on specific social & political issues or events. They use a warmer palette & the composition is tight & almost Cubist.
Portrait of Peter Higgs (2008)
But if I’m being truthful, I’m attracted to the morbid & weird paintings, where everything is a bit “off.” The figures or faces might be damaged or look barely alive & they’re just spectacular. There must be (hopefully) very little in the way of reference material for this kind of picture - except perhaps war art – so I look on in wonder at his capacity for imaginative painting with a credible approach to representation.
Here is a National Galleries Scotland film (under eight minutes) where he talks about his work & his career, including the concept of metamorphosis as featured in his art & compared with horror:
In this clip, he describes one of the hopes he has for his art as “haunting” the viewer, in other words the viewer wants to return to the picture; it has moved them in some way or caused them pause for thought. Or, to be honest freak you out completely. Whichever theme he is covering at any time, he certainly achieves all of this.
Ken Currie, we salute you.
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