Daughter and Mother 1997

John Currin painted this oil on canvas, Daughter and Mother, with no date. You know, at first glance, it's easy to be taken in by Currin's smooth surfaces. He’s working in the traditional medium of oil on canvas, but the painting feels incredibly contemporary in its blend of historical references, that old master sheen, with something unsettlingly modern. There’s a real push-pull here, the way those buttery brushstrokes create this tension. Look at how the light falls on their faces, creating these odd shadows. It’s like he’s playing with the idea of beauty and distortion, the way our perception of something can shift depending on the angle we look at it from. I’m struck by the way he handles the lilies, too. They’re so delicate and precise, yet they’re held by these, almost crude hands. Currin reminds me a bit of Lisa Yuskavage, another painter who isn’t afraid to dive into the strange and complicated territory of representation. His work makes us question what we expect from a painting and how we see ourselves reflected in it.