Artist Statement

Biography

Richard Kurtz is a self-taught, contemporary artist. His youth was spent in the East Village in
New York City where he became inspired to make art. He has lived and painted in Mexico, New Mexico, Miami, Spain, Southern California and in Marfa Texas. His artwork is informed by his many travels, periods of homelessness, inner investigations and fierce self-reliance. Kurtz is represented by his wife Jennifer Esperanza owner of Tears of Venus, a new gallery in Los Angeles, CA.

Collections

Sophie Calle, Paris, France

Audrey Heckler, New York, NY

Blanchard-Hill Collection, New York, N.Y.

De Young Museum, San Francisco, CA

Museum of Everything, London, England

Maurice Renoma, Paris, France

Blake Byrne, Los Angeles, CA

McEvoy Foundation For The Arts, San Francisco, CA

University of Miami Special Collections, Miami, FL

Tom Reiss, New York, NY

Beth DeWoody, New York, NY

Kathryn Mikesell Miami, FL

Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR

Jerry Lauren, New York, NY

Clinton Foundation, Little Rock, AR

Thea Foundation, Little Rock, AR

Jolie Altman, Birmingham, MI

Collections Cont

Laura Steward, Chicago, IL

Linda Durham, Santa Fe, NM

Davis Lisboa Mini-Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona, Spain

Numerous Private Collections

Exibitions and solo shows

2024Exhibitions/ Richard Kurtz: ^{Solo Shows} Tears of Venus, Los Anegeles, CA The 1040 and other works

2019 Esperanza Projects The 2019 New York Outsider Art Fair, New York, NY

2018 Esperanza Projects PULSE Art Fair, Miami Beach, FL

2018 Esperanza Projects Art Palm Springs, Palm Springs, CA

2018 Esperanza Projects NYC Outsider Art Fair, New York, NY

2017 I Know What It Is To long For Home Belote’s Studio 354, Oakland, CA

2016 Live Bravely JUX, Santa Fe, NM

2015 Loyalty is Royalty &gallery, Little Haiti, Miami, FL

2013 Richard Kurtz Davis Lisboa Mini-Museum of Contemporary Art,

Barcelona, Spain

2013 To Be or Not to Have Been Gallery 525, Ojai, CA

2009 End Game Goldleaf Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

Group shows

2023Group Shows Sophie Calle A toileting de faire, The Musee Picasso Paris

ma mignonne

2017 Trust Fall Gallery ALSO, Los Angeles, CA

2015 My Big Black America Corridor Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

2014 Laura Steward Projects NYC Outsider Art Fair, New York, NY

2014 Faces and figures in Self Taught Art Francis Lehman Loeb Art Center,

Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY

2013 Laura Steward Projects NYC Outsider Art Fair, New York, NY

2013 Laura Steward Projects The Paris Outsider Art Fair, Paris, France

2011 Hoy Arte Hoy Gallery Expotrastiendas Art Fair, Buenos Aires, Argentina

2010 Linda Durham Gallery Art Chicago, Chicago, IL

Group Shows Cont

2010	Blythe Projects	PULSE Miami, Miami, FL
2010	Virginia Green & Associates	NYC Outsider Art Fair, New York, NY

2009 Artopia at Art Basel with Purvis Young Artopia, Miami, FL

2006	Drawing Discoveries	The Arts Center, St. Petersburg, FL
2005	Hero	Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe, NM

Residencies & Awards

2011 Vermont Studio Center Residency

2011 Eric Hoffer Book Awards Finalist, Art Category – for the book Heartbreak (Human Being)

Education

1977 Bachelor of Arts: History at Kenyon College – Gambier, Ohio

Publications

2019 ARTNEWS Online

2018 Magical Electric Prophecy – 3 Writers on Artist Richard Kurtz – Esperanza Projects on Artsy

2018 Richard Kurtz – Wrestlers and Golden Books – Mindmarrow Blog by Catherine Haley Epstein

2016 THE Magazine, Santa Fe, New Mexico

2016 Blog by Jennifer Esperanza, The Art of Richard Kurtz

2015 Les Grigris De Sophie (Le Blog)

2012 The Alley Times Profile, Miami, FL

2009 THE Magazine, Santa Fe, New Mexico

2009 Pasatiempo, Santa Fe New Mexican

2009 Santa Fean Magazine

2008 Raw Vision Magazine

2007 De Young Museum Catalogue, “Diane and Sandy Besser Collection”’

2007 Santa Fe Reporter

2007 Albuquerque Journal

2007 Santa Fean Magazine

Publications Cont

2006 St. Petersburg Times 2006 Arts Houston

2006 Raw Vision Magazine

2005 Pasatiempo, Santa Fe New Mexican

2003 Wild Matter Journal, “Cover Art” 1985 Chicago Sun Times, “Art Wear”

1985 Chicago Tribune, “Wearable Art”

1985 The New York Times, “Style: Notes on Fashion”