ARTIST STUDIO BY NANCY ZIMMERMAN | PORTRAIT BY DANIEL QUAT
Erin Currier is an avid world traveler, but she’s not on the lookout for trendy destinations or the next great food fad. From South America to Southeast Asia, Egypt to Italy, she seeks out the humble people whose daily lives are invisible to most visitors but whose collective energy and spirit form the backbone of their cultures. “It’s an entire universe of the people, the cultures, their arts that’s vast and rich,” she says.
Back home in her Santa Fe studio, Currier pays homage to these unsung individuals by depicting their extraordinary dignity and resilience in the face of oppression, injustice, persecution, and displacement in luminous collage paintings that sometimes resemble religious art. Using found objects and discarded materials to highlight the unassuming beauty of even the lowliest materials—like empty tea boxes or colorful wrappings that were tossed in the trash—she draws parallels between society’s tendency to dispose of things without a thought and the marginalization of many of the world’s peoples.
Afghan Schoolgirls, acrylic and marker on wood panel, in an early stage.
“So much in today’s world is discarded,” Currier says, “but there’s so much beauty in it that people usually don’t even notice. Human beings have been discarded in a similar way, treated as if they’re dispensable.”
In Currier’s capable hands, these ordinary people become objects of respect, affection, and admiration as she illuminates our shared humanity. Her newest series, Fight Like a Girl, takes aim at the misogyny and victimization so many women and girls experience by exalting their strength and beauty. “In my new work, I’m interested in finding examples where feminine strength is alive and well. It persists in so many unlikely places—girls’ boxing rings in Pakistan, and skate parks in Afghanistan,” says Currier, who transforms these scenes into appealing images of young girls bursting with energy and creativity.
“It’s about our commonalities as human beings,” she explains. “The first thing you notice in the paintings is these engaging girls who look like young girls everywhere—they could be your daughters or sisters. Then you notice they’re wearing headscarves and you realize, ‘Oh, they’re Muslims,’ almost as an afterthought. I want people to feel that personal connection before they notice that these girls are ‘the Other.’” In this way Currier underscores the similarities that bind us; in her world, we’re not defined by our differences but rather by what we have in common.
Currier has been drawing since before she could walk or talk, and her long experience brings an easy confidence to her work that mirrors that of her subjects. Her glowing portraits come alive with vibrant, jewel-toned colors, giving the works a celebratory quality that radiates joy and fellowship. In an age where people are often unable to bridge religious and political differences through reasoned discourse, art’s transcendent appeal can serve as the glue that binds us. Currier shows us how that works, emphasizing beauty and harmony rather than anger and fear with her optimistic but clear-eyed take on the world around us.
Parsnips, Carrots, and Beans, acrylic and mixed media on panel; Sri Ma, acrylic and mixed media on panel.
From the Summer 2017
