SYNAPSE, Reciprocal, and Hand paintings
DEBORAH CURTISS | ARTIST • AUTHOR
articles, books, paintings, drawings, collages, and prints

MEDITATIONS ON A POST-HUMAN EARTH
28 trapezial-shaped drawing/paintings on unprimed linen, cotton, and silk canvases.
Currently seeking opportunities to exhibit.

A LIFE OF BELOVED IMAGERY
MAY 31 — SEPTEMBER 15, 2019
Aljoya Thornton Place
450 NE 100th Street, Seattle WA 98125
WOMEN (& MEN) OUT OF LINE
January 2 – February 2, 2019
GALLERY 110
110 3rd Ave S. | Seattle, WA 98104
206.624.9336 | www.gallery110.com

Four Ars Longa paintings: ARS • AAR • ONG, sold • RSL $ 2,150 each.
May be seen straight-on under Figure Paintings

Five Chrysalis paintings $ 2150 each
May be seen straight-on under Figure Paintings
iMPeRFeCT Gallery
Philadelphia, February–March, 2017
Watch 30 minute video of gallery talk
Artist Deborah Curtiss Explores Loss and Women's Strength in Exhibit
by Maleka Fruean
Deborah Curtiss, one of the founding artists of the Greene Street Artists Cooperative, displayed a special group of paintings on the second floor gallery of Earth-Bread + Brewery, 7136 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia (Mt. Airy). Included are her entire portrait series of women who inspired her to "be more than just a housewife and mother," three of the works from her "Threnody" series, [and six Foot paintings]. The works combine a variety of techniques and explore themes of loss, anger, and the power of a woman's strength in a world where Curtiss, who has been creating art for decades, has dealt with sexism in the art world all her life.
"We're still having to fight like hell," says Curtiss, talking about women's current place in art and in leadership positions throughout the world. It's a theme that even in 2013 has relevance - VIDA, the organization for women in the literary arts, just released the statistics of the significant under-representation of women's work in most of the major media outlets. Curtiss' portraits are of women who allowed her to see beyond what society was setting up for her in childhood and in her young adult years. The series includes paintings of Simone de Beauvoir, Alice Neel, Ellen Glasgow, Remedios Varo, Käthe Kollwitz, Virginia Woolf, Beatrice Wood, Lou Andreas Salome, and Martha Graham, all as seen through distinct chairs. Curtiss saw Graham perform in 1957, and was captivated by her powerful interpretations of overpowering women, which gave her the courage to pursue art. "With no idea at the time that I would aspire to be an artist, she [Graham] alone demonstrated the power of art to transform. And she transformed my life," says Curtiss.
Earth-Bread also features work from her "Threnody" series, which means "song of sorrow". "I made them when I had a major loss in my life," said Curtiss. "I lost my home, I had no bed. The paintings helped me heal. They were a sublimation - making something sublime from something that was so horrendous." The paintings consist of three vertically attached canvases with images of torsos and floors appropriated from master paintings onto which it looks as if the paint bleeds.
Maleka Fruean
PRESENTATIONS
Deborah Pratt Curtiss
While studio expression and instruction has been central in my life as an artist, I have also taught at museums and universities and presented at meetings of the College Art Association, and several of its affiliates. Upon publication of Introduction to Visual Literacy (1987), I became active with the International Visual Literacy Association through which I have given multiple illustrated (slide) presentations in more than 30 locations throughout the US, and abroad: Canada, Greece, Holland, Israel, Italy, and Sweden.
All topics may be seen in my Résumé; these presentations are current and ready to be booked:
Meditations On A Post-Human Earth: an evocation of an artist’s sensory experience
Visual Literacy: What Is It? Who Has It? Why Is It Important for Everyone?
Synesthesis: Personal Reflections on Interactions of • Music • Drawing • Painting • Dance • Writing. Written and presented in the form of a musical dance suite and accompanied by 66 slides.
The Role of Visual Literacy in the Development of Observational Science: its inspiration for some of my art College Art Association and International Visual Literacy Association
Eye Talk Happy Talk: the relationship of artist and model
Evolution of a Vision: a personal history of my life as a painter