Charles Curtis
Visual Arts
PurposeArtNow, YesCharlesCurtis
CharlesCurtis is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores thought, vulnerability, identity, emotional honesty, and human connection through expressive abstraction. Using fragmented figures, layered textures, handwritten phrases, color, symbolism, and improvisational mark-making, he creates what he describes as “Purpose Art” — intentional work designed to speak to people in deeply personal and reflective ways. His creative process balances structure with spontaneity. While many pieces begin with a conceptual idea, CharlesCurtis embraces “happy accidents” as an essential part of creation, allowing unexpected marks, colors, splatters, and shifts in direction to shape the final work. This tension between control and release mirrors the emotional themes present throughout his art. Rooted in influences ranging from graffiti, poetry, hip-hop culture, cartoons, comedy, and 80s/90s visual aesthetics to everyday conversations and internal reflection, his work invites viewers to confront the thoughts, fears, hopes, and emotional contradictions that quietly shape their lives. His current series, Thoughts That Make Sense (JUSTBe Part 1), examines the power of internal dialogue and the ways people wrestle with self-worth, healing, growth, fear, and becoming. Through emotionally intentional storytelling and symbolic visual language, CharlesCurtis aims to create experiences where audiences feel seen, challenged, inspired, and connected — not only to the work itself, but also to themselves.
Fun Fact
Fun Fact CharlesCurtis had to take English 10, 11, and 12 during his senior year of high school because he took nearly 15 art electives when students were only supposed to take around 4 or 5
What’s one word that describes your work?
intentional
Who or what inspires your work right now?
My work is inspired by a blend of everything around me. Inspiration comes from stream of consciousness, Instagram artists, older artists from the ‘80s and ‘90s, graffiti, grunge aesthetics, poetry, comedy, cartoons, hip-hop culture, and life in general. I’m inspired by honesty, color, emotion, texture, humor, and the randomness of my thoughts. A lot of my work comes from simply observing people, conversations, dissecting my feelings before I paint, and the ways I’m try to navigate life.
How do you identify as an artist and what kind of work do you create?
I identify as a multidisciplinary artist. I create across multiple forms because I don’t believe art should be limited to one medium. For me, art is an everyday experience, and I try to remain open to wherever creativity wants to take me.
The work I create is what I call “Purpose Art” — intentional art meant to speak to individuals wherever they are in life and wherever they hope to go next. My goal is to empower, uplift, challenge, hold accountable, and inspire through what I create.
The current series I’m presenting is called Thoughts That Make Sense, also known as JUSTBe Part 1. Each piece carries a message, question, or emotional truth that people may need to hear, feel, or confront within a particular season of their lives.
How did you get started in your artistic journey?
I started drawing, sketching, and creating as a kid. I was constantly doodling, making characters, and building little figures out of whatever I could find. Art became part of my everyday life early on, and by high school I was even nominated for Artist of the Year for a sculptural series I created.
When I got older, I stepped away from visual art for a while because I became focused on acting and performance. In college, however, I took a design course that introduced me to what I now call my “shape people,” which completely shifted my artistic perspective. I became less interested in perfect faces or realism and more interested in the emotional skeleton of people — the energy, vulnerability, and humanity underneath everything else.
Years later, during the pandemic, I revisited the phrase “jack of all trades, master of none” and discovered the full quote: “…but oftentimes better than a master of one.” That moment deeply inspired me to return to painting and creating without limiting myself. This current chapter of my work feels like both a continuation and a rebirth of my artistic journey.
What message or feeling do you want people to walk away with?
I want people to reflect on the relationship they have with their own thoughts. Sometimes our thoughts protect us, and other times they hold us back from becoming better versions of ourselves. I hope this show encourages people to listen more closely to themselves while also pushing past the fears, doubts, and limitations they may be wrestling with internally.
If even one piece helps someone feel seen, challenged, understood, or inspired, then the work has done what it was meant to do.
What does creating in your community mean to you?
Creating in my community means building, rebuilding, collaborating, challenging one another, and growing together creatively, emotionally, intellectually, and personally. Art can be uncomfortable sometimes because artists are sensitive about what we create, but I believe true community pushes people toward becoming the best version of themselves.
To me, community is about creating spaces where people feel supported enough to take risks, evolve, and be honest in their work while still being held accountable to their growth.
What connection do you share with the Institute, if any?
I’m connected to The Institute of Public Scholarship in several ways. My relationship began years ago through Michelle and Denise when they operated Fire, a creative space I was introduced to at a young age. After returning to Kalamazoo, I reconnected through poetry nights and community events connected to Legacy. I’m also currently collaborating with the Institute on an upcoming creative series later this year.
What can people expect from your performance or showcase?
People can expect emotionally intentional work that is colorful, reflective, vulnerable, and honest. My goal is to create an experience where viewers feel connected to the work and, in some way, connected to themselves.
Why should someone come experience this in person?
Because the work is meant to be felt, not just viewed. There’s something different about experiencing the texture, scale, movement, and emotional energy of the pieces in person. My work is very intentional, and I’ve learned that people often find themselves reflected in it in unexpected ways.
I do this thing where I create small hand-drawn notes and paintings for people to randomly choose from, and somehow the message almost always resonates with exactly what they need in that moment. I think this showcase offers that same experience on a larger scale — an opportunity to connect with something that speaks to you personally, emotionally, or creatively.
What’s one thing people don’t know about your creative process?
A lot of my best work comes from what I call “happy accidents.” I usually begin with a concept or structure in mind because I can be very perfectionistic, but the piece almost always changes while I’m creating it. A marker slips, paint splatters unexpectedly, a new color gets introduced, or I make a decision that was never part of the original plan. More often than not, those moments become the most important part of the piece. Some works stay unfinished because of that tension between control and spontaneity, but many of my strongest pieces were created when I stopped forcing perfection and allowed the art to move with me instead of against me.
Fun Fact CharlesCurtis had to take English 10, 11, and 12 during his senior year of high school because he took nearly 15 art electives when students were only supposed to take around 4 or 5
What’s one word that describes your work?
intentional
Who or what inspires your work right now?
My work is inspired by a blend of everything around me. Inspiration comes from stream of consciousness, Instagram artists, older artists from the ‘80s and ‘90s, graffiti, grunge aesthetics, poetry, comedy, cartoons, hip-hop culture, and life in general. I’m inspired by honesty, color, emotion, texture, humor, and the randomness of my thoughts. A lot of my work comes from simply observing people, conversations, dissecting my feelings before I paint, and the ways I’m try to navigate life.
How do you identify as an artist and what kind of work do you create?
I identify as a multidisciplinary artist. I create across multiple forms because I don’t believe art should be limited to one medium. For me, art is an everyday experience, and I try to remain open to wherever creativity wants to take me.
The work I create is what I call “Purpose Art” — intentional art meant to speak to individuals wherever they are in life and wherever they hope to go next. My goal is to empower, uplift, challenge, hold accountable, and inspire through what I create.
The current series I’m presenting is called Thoughts That Make Sense, also known as JUSTBe Part 1. Each piece carries a message, question, or emotional truth that people may need to hear, feel, or confront within a particular season of their lives.
How did you get started in your artistic journey?
I started drawing, sketching, and creating as a kid. I was constantly doodling, making characters, and building little figures out of whatever I could find. Art became part of my everyday life early on, and by high school I was even nominated for Artist of the Year for a sculptural series I created.
When I got older, I stepped away from visual art for a while because I became focused on acting and performance. In college, however, I took a design course that introduced me to what I now call my “shape people,” which completely shifted my artistic perspective. I became less interested in perfect faces or realism and more interested in the emotional skeleton of people — the energy, vulnerability, and humanity underneath everything else.
Years later, during the pandemic, I revisited the phrase “jack of all trades, master of none” and discovered the full quote: “…but oftentimes better than a master of one.” That moment deeply inspired me to return to painting and creating without limiting myself. This current chapter of my work feels like both a continuation and a rebirth of my artistic journey.
What message or feeling do you want people to walk away with?
I want people to reflect on the relationship they have with their own thoughts. Sometimes our thoughts protect us, and other times they hold us back from becoming better versions of ourselves. I hope this show encourages people to listen more closely to themselves while also pushing past the fears, doubts, and limitations they may be wrestling with internally.
If even one piece helps someone feel seen, challenged, understood, or inspired, then the work has done what it was meant to do.
What does creating in your community mean to you?
Creating in my community means building, rebuilding, collaborating, challenging one another, and growing together creatively, emotionally, intellectually, and personally. Art can be uncomfortable sometimes because artists are sensitive about what we create, but I believe true community pushes people toward becoming the best version of themselves.
To me, community is about creating spaces where people feel supported enough to take risks, evolve, and be honest in their work while still being held accountable to their growth.
What connection do you share with the Institute, if any?
I’m connected to The Institute of Public Scholarship in several ways. My relationship began years ago through Michelle and Denise when they operated Fire, a creative space I was introduced to at a young age. After returning to Kalamazoo, I reconnected through poetry nights and community events connected to Legacy. I’m also currently collaborating with the Institute on an upcoming creative series later this year.
What can people expect from your performance or showcase?
People can expect emotionally intentional work that is colorful, reflective, vulnerable, and honest. My goal is to create an experience where viewers feel connected to the work and, in some way, connected to themselves.
Why should someone come experience this in person?
Because the work is meant to be felt, not just viewed. There’s something different about experiencing the texture, scale, movement, and emotional energy of the pieces in person. My work is very intentional, and I’ve learned that people often find themselves reflected in it in unexpected ways.
I do this thing where I create small hand-drawn notes and paintings for people to randomly choose from, and somehow the message almost always resonates with exactly what they need in that moment. I think this showcase offers that same experience on a larger scale — an opportunity to connect with something that speaks to you personally, emotionally, or creatively.
What’s one thing people don’t know about your creative process?
A lot of my best work comes from what I call “happy accidents.” I usually begin with a concept or structure in mind because I can be very perfectionistic, but the piece almost always changes while I’m creating it. A marker slips, paint splatters unexpectedly, a new color gets introduced, or I make a decision that was never part of the original plan. More often than not, those moments become the most important part of the piece. Some works stay unfinished because of that tension between control and spontaneity, but many of my strongest pieces were created when I stopped forcing perfection and allowed the art to move with me instead of against me.