Julie Curtiss
Growth#52
Egon Investment Scores
Liquidity
6/10
How easily works can be bought and sold at auction
Institutional
7/10
Museum collections, biennials, and institutional recognition
Momentum
8/10
Recent price trends, gallery moves, and market buzz
Discovery
0/10
Undervaluation opportunity relative to peer artists
Risk
2/10
Investment risk factors — higher means more volatile
Market Position
Auction Record
$466,200
Three Widows
June 30, 2021
Recent Sales Highlights
| Work | Price | Venue & Date |
|---|---|---|
| Princess | $106,250 | May 2019 |
| Pas Du Trois | $423,000 | Christie's, November 2021 |
| Three Widows | $466,200 | June 2021 |
| Triplette (Triplet) | — | Christie's |
| Conversation | $35,484 | Phillips London |
| Hairy Hat | $30,645 | Phillips London |
- Pricing
- 2019
- Explosive growth; Princess sold for $106,250 (10,000% increase)
- 2017-2018
- Limited primary market sales; works selling for $1,350-$8,000
- 2021 Peak
- Auction record of $466,200; multiple works selling $200,000-$400,000+
- 2024-2025
- Works on paper/multiples: $30,000-$35,000 range
- 2019 November
- Three paintings sold for combined $1.1 million in 24 hours at Phillips
- Current Status
- Six-figure sales for paintings; primary market controlled by galleries
- Comparables
- Peer Artists
- Grouped with Loie Hollowell, Caitlin Keogh, Sascha Braunig, Genesis Belanger, Avery Singer, Titus Kaphar (emerging contemporary painters)
- Chicago Imagist Connection
- Work compared to Christina Ramberg; collectors placing her alongside Roger Brown
- Primary Market
- Note
- 2019 article noted collectors laughing at Phillips specialist asking about available works
- Pricing
- Not publicly disclosed; contact galleries directly
- Galleries
- Contact White Cube (Europe/Asia) and Gagosian (Paris) for current pricing
- Availability
- Limited; works often sold before exhibitions open
- Auction History
- Date
- June 30, 2021
- Sale
- Phillips New York, 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale
- Size
- 30 × 30 inches
- Work
- Three Widows
- Year
- 2016
- Price
- $466,200 (with fees)
- Medium
- Acrylic and oil on canvas
- Context
- Exceeded estimate by 4x; part of 100% sold white-glove sale
- Estimate
- $110,000-$150,000
- First Auction
- May 2019 (Princess at Phillips)
- Notable Sales
Work Date Price Auction House Princess May 2019 $106,250 — Pas Du Trois November 2021 $423,000 Christie's Three Widows June 2021 $466,200 — Triplette (Triplet) May 2021 Christie's Conversation December 2024 $35,484 Phillips London Hairy Hat December 2024 $30,645 Phillips London - Market Commentary
- Artnet 2019: '10,000-percent increase in price from 2018 to 2019'
- Phillips head Rebekah Bowling 2019: 'how deep the demand was'
- Concerns raised in 2019 about rapid speculation and market sustainability
- Artist expressed worry about being 'flash in the pan' versus sustainable career
- 2021: Phillips CEO Ed Dolman noted 'bullish' contemporary art market with Asian demand rivaling Western
- Sell Through Rate
- Strong (askART reports 87% sold)
- Total Lots Offered
- 67+ (askART: 45 lots, 39 sold)
- Price Range All Time
- $169 - $466,200 USD
- Market Characteristics
- Liquidity
- Moderate - approximately 10-15 auction lots annually post-2019
- Volatility
- High during 2019-2021 period; article notes concerns about 'bubble' and speculation
- Secondary Market
- Active but gallery-controlled; dealers noted 'deep demand' by 2019
- Collector Profile
- KAWS collectors were early supporters; Middle Eastern buyers; contemporary art speculators
- Geographic Demand
- Strong Asian demand (China, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, Thailand) alongside Western collectors
Institutional Presence
Bronx Museum
New YorkColumbus Museum of Art
OhioDallas Museum of Art
TexasHigh Museum
Atlanta, GeorgiaLos Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Los Angeles, CaliforniaMuseum of Contemporary Art (MCA Chicago)
Chicago, IllinoisWalker Art Center
Minneapolis, MinnesotaYuz Museum
Shanghai, ChinaMaki Collection
Japan- Exhibitions
- Group Exhibitions Notable
- LACMA Interscope Reimagined (2022)The Shed - The Looking Glass (2021)Perrotin Seoul - No Patience for Monuments (2019)Deitch Gallery - Good Picture (2020)The Drawing Center (featured in exhibitions)
- Museum Collections
- Art Fair Participation
- Art Basel Miami (2018, 2019 with Anton Kern)Frieze London (2018 with Various Small Fires)FIAC Paris (2019 with Anton Kern)Expo Chicago (2018 with Anton Kern)Zona Maco Mexico City (2017 with The Hole)NADA Art Fair (2017 with Nino Mier)
- Awards and Recognition
- Awards Residencies
Year Location Award Residency 2004 — Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy's Young Artists Award — 2003 — Erasmus European Exchange Program Grant — 2012 New York VAN LIER Fellowship — 2013 New York — Contemporary Art Center at Woodside Residency Program 2017 New York — Saltonstall Arts Colony Residency 2018 New York Fellow of the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program — 2019 Tokyo — Youkobo Art Space Returnee Residency Program
Career & Biography
- Career
- Working Method
- Uses sketches and projection for large-scale works; employs matte, highly pigmented paints (acrylic, oil, gouache) to achieve graphic, flattened aesthetic; works in Brooklyn studio
- Identity
- Ethnicity
- French and Vietnamese
- Current Location
- Brooklyn, New York (also maintains residence in St. Petersburg, Florida)
- Personal Context
- Mother (gave birth circa 2024); spends time between Brooklyn and Tampa Bay, Florida; in therapy since age 16; credits Instagram with helping career development
- Artistic Context
- Key Influences
- Chicago Imagists (Christina Ramberg, Ray Yoshida, Roger Brown, Jim Nutt)18th-19th century French painting (Degas, Courbet)Japanese manga and noh masksComic books and pop illustrationSurrealism (Luis Buñuel, Maya Deren)KAWS (mentor and early supporter)
Artistic Profile
- Style
- Graphic surrealism with flat, matte surfaces; highly pigmented colors; faceless or fragmented female figures; precise rendering with illustrative quality but open-ended meaning
- Evolution
- Critical Assessment Evolution
- Initially recognized for Instagram visibility and graphic appeal; increasingly positioned as serious painter engaging with art history and feminist theory; transition from 'buzz artist' to established contemporary painter with institutional validation
- Themes and Subjects
- Movements and Periods
- Techniques and Mediums
- Media
- Acrylic, oil, vinyl paint on canvas; gouache on paper; screenprints; ceramic/resin sculptures with synthetic and human hair
- Scale
- Ranges from small works on paper (12-14 inches) to large canvases (102 x 84 inches in Suburban Lawns)
- Technique
- Matte, highly pigmented paints for gouache-like effect; airbrushing; sketches projected onto canvas for larger works; crisp outlines and saturated color; precise rendering
- Color Palette
- Saturated, vivid colors; monochromatic backgrounds; strategic use of shadow and light
Critical Reception
- Critical Reception
- Critical Themes
- Female surrealism and contemporary feminist paintingFaceless portraits and fragmented femininityChicago Imagist legacy and influenceGraphic surrealism and pop culture imageryInstagram-era painting and digital visibilityNature vs. Culture in representations of femininityJungian psychology and shadow self
- Academic Scholarship
- Limited formal academic scholarship as of research date; primarily covered in art journalism and criticism
- Social Media Discourse
- Strong presence; artist actively uses Instagram (@juliecurtissartist with 53K followers); work circulates widely online
- Publications and Media
- Major Publications
Date Article Author Publication December 19, 2019 The Millennial Art Star Julie Curtiss's Paintings Now Sell for Half a Million Dollars. It's Kind of Freaking Her Out Nate Freeman Artnet News January 29, 2019 The 6 Rising Artists to Watch in 2019 — W Magazine Spring 2019 Where the Wild Things Are / In Her Wildest Dreams Evan Pricco Juxtapoz Magazine June 5, 2018 The Strange, Sinister, Seductive art of Julie Curtiss Leah Ollman Los Angeles Times October 19, 2017 These Are the Young Female Artists to Watch Katya Kazakina Bloomberg News March 27, 2021 — — Artforum February 6, 2020 Julie Curtiss, Fast-Rising Art Market Star, Heads to White Cube — ARTnews September 2025 10 Surreal Painters Today You Need to Know — Contemporary Art Issue March 15, 2019 Painter Julie Curtiss Explores the Representation of Women in Art History Daniel Milroy Maher It's Nice That October 19, 2018 Never a Bad Hair Day for Julie Curtiss Maria Brito Cultured Magazine — Don't Worry, Be Angsty - Interview Holly Black Elephant Magazine November 2, 2017 Brigitte Mulholland with Julie Curtiss - Interview — Painting Is Dead - Documentary Coverage
- White Cube video series; studio visits published online
- Catalogue Publications
- Year
- 2019
- Title
- Julie Curtiss: The Dinner Party
- Publisher
- Spheres Projects
- Contributors
- Texts by Darren Bader, Lauren Groff, Austin Lee, Carmen Maria Machado, Nick Mulgrew, and Legion Seven
Gallery & Representation
- Representation
- Website
- www.juliecurtiss.com
- Gallery Tier
- Top tier - Gagosian and White Cube are among the world's most powerful mega-galleries
- Instagram Presence
- Note
- Artist credits Instagram with helping career; works 'translate well on small screen'
- Handle
- @juliecurtissartist
- Followers
- 53K+
- Geographic Coverage
- Global - New York (Anton Kern), London/Hong Kong/Seoul (White Cube), Paris (Gagosian)
- Previous Representation
Period Location Note Gallery 2017-2018 Los Angeles Early representation; solo show 2018 Various Small Fires 2017 Brooklyn Solo show 106 Green - Representation Trajectory
- Rapid ascent from artist-run spaces (2017) → mid-tier galleries (Various Small Fires) → major international galleries (White Cube 2020, Gagosian 2025)
- Geographic Reach
- Extremely limited; works typically sold before exhibitions; contact galleries for pricing and availability
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