Robert McCurdy received his BFA and honorary Doctorate from Maryland Institute College of Art, as well as a fellowship from Yale University. His roots are in the mid-Atlantic region, but he has lived in New York City for decades.
Best known as a painter of meticulously realistic portraits of famous subjects, McCurdy’s artistic practice is conceptual, even minimalist. His paintings are of people, but not about them. Explaining what he seeks during his portrait sittings, the artist writes, “I look for a sustainable moment: one where there is no before or after. It is why there is no movement, no expression or gesture… The image is reported rather than interpreted.” The resulting work, therefore, simultaneously denies and engages with celebrity.
Photo courtesy of Robert McCurdy.