Jess Currier was born in 1989 in Monterey, California and grew up amidst the rugged beauty of the Central Coast. Through a great deal of time spent alone outdoors in childhood, she formed a deep connection to the botanical world that sparked her longing to create and would later shape the direction of her work as an artist. In adolescence and young adulthood, she dedicated herself to several creative pursuits, ranging in media from photography to graphic design, though none captivated her as much as painting.

In 2014, Currier received her BFA from York College of Pennsylvania, where she first fell in love with working in oils and never looked back. She was awarded first place in her senior exhibition and participated in several group shows. She returned home to California upon graduating and created a body of work for her first solo exhibition in 2015. Currier continued to work professionally in photography, art direction, and commercial interior design before ultimately taking the leap to focus solely on painting in 2017. She dedicated herself to building her technical skill and developing her voice as an artist through hundreds of studies of landscapes, flowers, and portraits. Currier went on to earn her MFA from Academy of Art University in 2020, where she studied painting in Florence, Italy.

Currier’s work embraces the materiality of oils on canvas through bold, textural interpretations of light and shadow that straddle the line between realism and impressionism. Expressively painted, translucent floral patterns overlay her portraits and evoke a sense of longing and nostalgia. The diaphanous blooms embody the ephemeral nature of flowers themselves as containers for our emotional experience as human beings, both in moments of greatest joy and deepest loss. Through this unique blending of figurative and botanical imagery, Currier explores themes of hope, resilience, and the love of beauty as an act of brave rebellion against despair.

Currier’s work has been exhibited across the United States and Europe, featured in numerous publications, and is collected worldwide. She currently spends her time gratefully painting and teaching from her studio and home in Los Angeles, where she is part of the world’s largest artist-in-residence community.

2020 MFA in Painting, Academy of Art University

2019 Culture Care Creative Fellowship with Makoto Fujimura

2014 BFA in Studio Art, York College of Pennsylvania

2023 Five And Under, Arcadia Contemporary, NYC

2022 Solo Exhibition: The Language of Flowers, Monrovia, CA

2021 Solo Exhibition: Copa Vida, Pasadena, CA

2020 ARTxFreedom Group Exhibition, Radiance International, Hollywood, CA (Juried Show)

2018 Italy Group Exhibition, Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA (Juried Show)

2018 Reflections of Italy, SRISA Gallery, Florence, Italy 

2015 Solo Exhibition: Light & Shadow, Lilify, Monterey, CA

2014 York College Fine Art Senior Exhibition, First Place

2014 Winter Group Exhibition, Through the Fire Studios, Columbia, PA

2014 Fall Group Exhibition, Studio Gallery 234, York, PA (Juried Show)

2023 American Art Collector | Issue 214

2023 Open Studio Podcast Interview with Kilo Blimp | The Unspoken Truth of Being An Artist

2023 Arts to Hearts Podcast Interview | Artist Jess Currier on How to Find Your Voice as a Creative

2022 Artists & Podcast Interview | Artists & Identity 

2021 Ekstasis Magazine | "Transcending the Image" an Interview with Jess Currier

2020 Voyage LA Magazine | Local Stories Series

2017 Passport Voyager | "Living Creatively: An Interview with Jess Currier"

2014 The York Review | Spring 2014 Publication