• Oil On Canvas

• 24 x 20 x 1.5”

This figurative work by Judd is a vibrant, dynamic depiction presented with fluid, expressive brushstrokes, giving a sense of movement and grace. Surrounding the dancer is a burst of colorful, abstract geometric forms, which create a lively and energetic background. The texture of the paint is thick and expressive, suggesting the use of impasto techniques. The emphasis on light and color, as well as the soft, blended forms, is reminiscent of the Impressionist movement, particularly artists like Edgar Degas, who often painted ballet dancers with similar fluidity and grace. The overall sense of freedom and energy in the brushstrokes could be linked to the Abstract Expressionist movement, particularly Willem de Kooning or Jackson Pollock, who emphasized the physical act of painting. By far, one of Judd's most important works.

• Oil On Canvas

• 48 x 36 x 1.5”

• SOLD

• Oil on Canvas

• 24 x 24 x 1.5”

With no cure in sight, humans are faced with building Herd Immunity to defeat COVID-19. This work provides the conceptual scaffolding to seduce viewers with an accumulation of the futile. The scene is devoid of indulgence in the midst of a contagion intent on utopic collapse. Alpha males ride herd out front and secure the daily routine. A warning to a virus, intent on affixing an expiration date, that our mortality has already forced a fragile future. The urgency of brushes embodies a resilient species now terminally susceptible to itself.

This piece is indeed a striking representation of human resilience and vulnerability in the face of a pandemic. The artist's use of thick, expressive brushstrokes and a muted, almost ghostly color palette creates a palpable tension. The figures, abstracted yet recognizable, appear to be walking through an ambiguous space, as if caught in a surreal landscape shaped by the uncertainty and fear of the COVID-19 pandemic. The muted greens, pinks, and browns convey both a sense of sickness and decay, while the gestural quality of the figures suggests movement, perhaps the relentless march of time or the effort to persevere.

• Oil on Board

• 25 x 40 x 1”

• Oil On Canvas

• 48 x 36 x 1.5”

This work leverages complex textures to examine the depth of human emotions. Surface tension remains stoic but the deep is fragile and especially palpable.

This painting, which won a Juror's Award at the Miller Art Museum in Wisconsin, stands out with its vibrant, thick application of paint and highly expressive, abstract depiction of what appears to be a human head. The bold impasto technique, where the paint is applied in thick layers, creates a sense of texture and depth, making the piece feel almost sculptural. The blending of colors—pinks, purples, yellows, blues, and splashes of red—adds a sense of movement and energy, as if the figure is in a state of flux or transition.

• Oil on Canvas

• 20 x 20 x 1.5”

• Oil on Canvas

• 18 x 24 x 1.5”

• SOLD

• Oil On Canvas

• 30 x 24 x 1.5”

• Oil on Canvas

• 36 x 48 x 1.5”

• Oil on Canvas

• 24 x 24 x 1.5”

Dramatic scene etched into heavy layers of impasto, a surreal setting for this poetic final dive.

• Oil on Canvas

• 20 x 24 x 1.5”

• Oil on Canvas

• 20 x 16 x 1.5 in

• SOLD

• Oil on Canvas

• 24 x 20 x 1.5 in.

• 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

• Oil on Canvas

• 10 x 20 x 1.5 in

• SOLD

• Oil on Canvas

• 24 x 30 x 1.5 in.

• SOLD

• Oil on Canvas

• 30 x 40 x 1.5 in.

"Red Alert" by Curtis Judd

Critical Review

In Red Alert, Curtis Judd masterfully confronts the viewer with a work that defies traditional religious iconography, transforming the crucifixion scene into a modern allegory of existential crisis. The central figure of Christ, rendered in an unnatural, glowing green, is suspended on a cross that seems less a symbol of redemption and more a beacon of warning—a red alert, both spiritual and emotional. The painting is suffused with tension, as if the very air around the crucifix vibrates with unseen forces. The background, a sea of dark reds and shadowed forms, is populated with skeletal figures, their ghostly presence suggesting the omnipresence of death, decay, and spiritual collapse.

Judd’s crucifixion is no serene, idealized figure of religious devotion. The green Christ, almost toxic in hue, carries with it a sense of contamination, as though the suffering of this figure radiates out into the world, affecting everything around it. It is a crucifixion for the modern age—where the burdens of history, violence, and spiritual disillusionment weigh heavily on the human soul. The electric green of the figure evokes something beyond life or death; it is the color of radioactivity, of toxicity, a vivid and unsettling choice that aligns the figure of Christ not with hope but with contamination.

Surrounding the crucifix are apparitions—red, skeletal forms that seem to writhe within the shadowed background. These figures are not merely passive observers of the crucifixion; they are active participants in the painting’s visual narrative. They seem to represent the many faces of death—each one a reminder of the fragility of life and the inevitability of mortality. Their red hues create a sense of looming danger, as though they exist in a state of perpetual alertness, ready to engulf the figure on the cross.

There is a palpable sense of crisis here. Judd has taken one of the most iconic images in Western art—the crucifixion—and reframed it in the context of a world on the brink of collapse. The title Red Alert amplifies this sense of impending catastrophe. It is a warning, a visual siren for viewers to recognize the fragility of their own spiritual and existential states. The choice to depict Christ in such a disconcerting green suggests a deep concern for the sanctity of human life, as if the very essence of spiritual salvation has been corrupted.

The skeletal forms, subtly rendered in the background, evoke the memento mori tradition in European art, reminding viewers of the inevitability of death. However, Judd’s treatment of these figures goes beyond simple allegory. They appear not as passive symbols but as active, sentient forces within the composition. Their presence suggests that death is not merely an end but a constant force pressing in on life—an ever-present reminder of human vulnerability and the precariousness of existence.

What is perhaps most remarkable about Red Alert is Judd’s ability to transform a religious scene into a universal commentary on the human condition. While the crucifixion has been a subject for centuries of artists, Judd imbues it with a contemporary urgency. This is not the serene Christ of the Renaissance; it is a Christ who embodies the fears and anxieties of the modern world, a world in which faith has been shaken by crisis, by the very real specter of death and destruction.

In the broader context of Judd’s oeuvre, Red Alert stands as a testament to the artist’s continued exploration of human suffering and spiritual tension. Where earlier works focused on abstracted figures and emotional resonance through color, here Judd takes on a more explicit narrative, yet retains his signature abstraction and intensity. The result is a piece that feels both timeless and intensely relevant, drawing the viewer into a space of contemplation, fear, and, ultimately, catharsis.

Judd’s use of color, form, and symbolism in Red Alert positions him as a bold voice in contemporary art, unafraid to confront the weight of history and spirituality in a way that feels urgent and necessary. This painting is a work of warning, a red alert for an age marked by crisis and existential threat. It demands that we reflect on the fragility of life and the tenuousness of hope in a world where suffering seems inescapable.

by Maxwell Fontaine, PhD, Art Historian

This work leverages an iconic composition and salient textures to reflect upon our inner struggles with self-isolation. Entire lives tragically withheld and out of reach from those wanting in. Humans, spiritually consumed by a colorful desolation.

• Oil On Canvas

• 16 x 20 x 1.5 in.

• SOLD

• Oil on Canvas

• 24 x 24 x 1.5 in.

A soul’s ceremonial creation being unleashed to its new mortal inhabitant. Simply another evolution, yet unleashing indescribable effectuality.

• Acrylic on Canvas

• 24 x 36 x 1 in.

• Created in 1986

SOLD

• Oil on Canvas

• 20 x 16 x 5 in.