• Oil on Canvas

• 60 x 48 x 1.5 in.

"Monarch in Motion" by Curtis Judd

Critical Review

In Curtis Judd’s latest work, Monarch in Motion, we witness a striking fusion of classical ballet and abstract expressionism, a blending of grace and chaos that challenges traditional boundaries of figuration. The ballet dancer—an enduring symbol of elegance and precision—stands poised within a swirling vortex of color, as if emerging from a storm of abstraction. Judd's use of vibrant hues and thick, impasto brushwork envelops the figure, contrasting the structured pose of the dancer with the disarray of the background.

Judd’s use of color is far from incidental. Each hue, deliberately chosen, bursts forth from the canvas like the wings of a butterfly—vivid, delicate, and entirely uncontained. This is no mere portrait of a dancer; it is an exploration of motion itself, a visual symphony that pulses with life. The figure, though grounded in classical form, becomes secondary to the sheer force of color and line, which threaten to engulf her at any moment. And yet, she stands, unwavering, a testament to the human spirit’s ability to retain grace in the face of chaos.

The nod to Edgar Degas is unmistakable, but where Degas sought to capture the quiet moments of a dancer’s life, Judd plunges us into the very heart of the performance. His ballerina is not a passive figure; she is a force, at once in harmony with and in opposition to the world around her. There is a tension here—a balancing act between control and surrender—that elevates the work beyond mere homage and into a realm of its own.

In the tradition of Fauvism, Judd’s audacious color palette refuses to conform to the naturalistic world. The background explodes with a kaleidoscope of pinks, yellows, and blues, each color applied in bold, gestural strokes that recall the energy of Willem de Kooning. Yet, beneath this abstraction lies a subtle, cubist geometry—a reminder of Judd’s awareness of form and space, even in the midst of painterly freedom.

The title Monarch in Motion offers a dual reading: the dancer as both a regal figure and a metaphorical butterfly, fluttering through a landscape of shifting perspectives. In this reading, the painting takes on a deeper resonance. The dancer is not simply moving through space; she is transcending it, much like a butterfly rising above the limitations of the earth. The figure’s delicate balance on the tip of her toes, caught in a moment of perfect poise, contrasts with the explosive background, suggesting a moment of clarity amid chaos.

What Judd achieves here is nothing short of remarkable. He manages to encapsulate the ephemeral nature of performance—its fleeting beauty, its moments of tension and release—within a static medium. The dancer’s graceful arc through the canvas becomes a metaphor for resilience, for the human capacity to find moments of grace even when surrounded by turbulence.

In the broader context of Judd’s work, Monarch in Motion is a continuation of his exploration into the relationship between abstraction and the figure. Where earlier works explored the emotional and psychological dimensions of abstraction, here Judd pushes further into a more dynamic, immediate space, where movement itself becomes the subject. It is a bold step forward, one that positions Judd not merely as a follower of modernist traditions but as an innovator who is unafraid to disrupt and reimagine the past.

With Monarch in Motion, Judd asserts his place in the ongoing conversation of contemporary art, a conversation that grapples with the very nature of representation in an abstract world. It is a work that demands to be seen, felt, and experienced—an invitation to dance with color, movement, and form.

by Maxwell Fontaine, PhD, Art Historian