Justine Kurland (born 1969) is an American photographer noted for her staged, narrative images that often explore themes of adolescence, femininity, and the American landscape. Her work is characterized by carefully composed scenes that blend documentary realism with a surreal, almost mythic quality.
Early Life and Education
Kurland was born in New York City. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology from Oberlin College in 1992 and subsequently studied photography at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), receiving a Master of Fine Arts in 1996.
Career
After completing her graduate studies, Kurland began exhibiting her photographs in galleries and museums. She gained early recognition for a series of images portraying groups of adolescent girls in natural settings, often dressed in white clothing, which she created between 1994 and 1998. These works, later published in the book Girl Pictures (2002), examine notions of freedom, communal identity, and the construction of gendered spaces.
In the early 2000s, Kurland shifted focus toward narratives involving young women in more urban or suburban contexts, as seen in the series Girlhood (2005) and My Last Day (2009). Her later projects, such as The Garden (2016), revisit landscape photography with an emphasis on cultivated environments and the interplay between human design and natural forms.
Kurland has held solo exhibitions at institutions including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and the International Center of Photography, New York. Her work is part of the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Getty Museum, among others.
Teaching
Kurland has served as a faculty member at several higher‑education institutions. She taught photography at Bard College from 2001 to 2004 and has been a professor in the Department of Photography at the University of New Mexico since 2009.
Awards and Honors
- 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
- 2005 McArthur Foundation Grant (Photography)
- 2012 Creative Capital Award, Photography
Publications
- Girl Pictures (2002, Aperture) – monograph of her early series of adolescent girls in nature.
- Girlhood (2005, Aperture) – continuation of the exploration of youth and identity.
- My Last Day (2009, Aperture) – narrative series centered on a teenage girl’s experiences.
- The Garden (2016, Aperture) – landscape-focused work examining cultivated spaces.
Artistic Themes and Style
Kurland’s photographs are staged with meticulous attention to composition, lighting, and color, creating images that are both documentary in appearance and fictional in content. Critics have highlighted her exploration of the American pastoral ideal, the social constructs of femininity, and the tension between autonomy and community in adolescent life. Her use of natural light, soft focus, and expansive vistas contributes to a dreamlike quality that invites multiple interpretations.
Collections
Kurland’s photographs are held in major public collections, including:
- Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
- Getty Museum, Los Angeles
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
- Denver Art Museum
Personal Life
Kurland resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she continues to produce photographic work and teach.