[DETAIL] John Currin, Lake Place, 2012, oil on canvas, 178.1 x 152.7 x 2.9 cm / 70 ⅛ x 60 ⅛ x 1 ⅛ in Copyright the artist, courtesy Sadie Coles HQ, London

In his latest show at Sadie Coles HQ, John Currin presents a new series of paintings centred on the female nude. These latest works combine the explicitness of his pornographic paintings of the last five years with a new level of psychological realism. In contrast to those works, which drew upon 1970s magazines, the majority were painted directly from life in the artist’s studio. They show reclining women who appear ambiguously caught between the art-historical trope of the female nude and an appearance of earthy naturalism. On view until August 18, 2012, atSadie Coles 69 South Audley Street London W1