Fundamentally, the works of Angel Duran (b. 1996 New Jersey, USA) examine how urban systems shape social interaction through the spaces between destinations — gas stations, sidewalks, taxis and other transitional environments designed for movement and utility rather than connection. Within these scenes, figures are often present yet functionally isolated despite their proximity to one another. Rather than depicting loneliness as an emotional condition, he investigates environments where human interaction becomes secondary to the systems that organize daily life.
Artificial light serves as the primary subject. Streetlights, headlights, and illuminated signage dominate the composition, directing attention and defining the space while diminishing the presence of the people who occupy it. Human figures become incidental — absorbed into the environment rather than centered within it. Through nocturnal cityscapes, Angel explores how contemporary urban spaces are organized around movement, efficiency, and utility, creating environments where human presence feels increasingly peripheral to the systems that surround it. These scenes are not exceptional; they are familiar, repeatable, and quietly pervasive—conditions embedded within the architecture of everyday life.
Angel currently works and resides in New Jersey. His work has been showcased in multiple group exhibitions across the U.S. and internationally. Exhibitions include Pierro Gallery, Amos Eno Gallery, The Herb + Milly Iris Gallery, and the CICA Museum in South Korea. Angel has also participated in prominent art fairs such as Art Miami CONTEXT and The Other Art Fair. In 2024, he was added to the White Columns artist registry.
CV
Select Solo Exhibitions
2024 — Abstraction of the Human Mind, Two-person exhibition in collaboration with Yigsy Magaly, The Herb + Milly Iris Gallery, South Orange, NJ
2020 — Tokyo Taxi: Redux, Mason Gross Galleries - New Brunswick, NJ
2019 — A Brief Inquiry into the Social Interactions of an Insomniac, Mason Gross Galleries - New Brunswick, NJ
2018 — Night Owl, Mason Gross Galleries - New Brunswick, NJ
Select Group Exhibitions
2026 — Press Fast Forward, JCAL Gallery - New York, NY
2026 — Focal Point, Motto Gallery - Newark, NJ
2025 — Time to Pretend, DaHub Gallery - Englewood, NJ
2025 — Art Is, CICA Museum - Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
2024 — The Big Small Show, Drawing Rooms - Jersey City, NJ
2024 — Passing Glows, Warimono Gallery - New York, NY
2024 — Kaleidoscope Hispanica, Pierro Gallery - South Orange, NJ
2024 — Beyond Likeness, NOT REAL ART - Los Angeles, CA
2024 — Diaspora, Perth Amboy Art Gallery - Perth Amboy, NJ
2024 — Mood Equals Purple. Curate NJ Art Gallery - Raritan, NJ
2023 — COLOR,Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition - Brooklyn, NY
2023 — Transplants, Amos Eno Gallery - East Williamsburg, NY
2023 — Seascapes, Fusion Art Gallery - Santa Fe, NM
2023 — Figurative, Light Space & Time Art Gallery - Greenwich, FL
2023 — Consumed by Creativity, Electric Jungle - Jersey City, NJ
2023 — STREETS, Paper Mills Playhouse Gallery - Millburn, NJ
2023 — Behind City Walls, Caelum Gallery - New York, NY
2023 — Unfamiliar Faces, Showcase in collaboration with Yigsy Magaly, OneRiver Art School - Clark, NJ
2023 — Thesis Showcase: Curtain Call, Rutgers, Mason Gross School of Art & Design - New Brunswick, NJ
2022 — Face, Ubique Gallery - New York, NY
2022 — A Breath of Fresh Air, Bud & Blooms Flower Gallery - Englewood, NJ
2021 — Unrequited, Caelum Gallery - New York, NY
2021 — Layers, David Dupuy Gallery - New York, NY
2021 — The Crowd, 7House Gallery - New York, NY
2020 — AXA Art Prize, New York Academy of the Art - New York, NY
2020 — BFA Thesis: Indoor Songs, Rutgers, Mason Gross School of Art & Design - New Brunswick, NJ
2019 — Vision for the Future, Rutgers, Mason Gross School of Art & Design - New Brunswick, NJ
2019 — Up In The Clouds at GSAH - New Brunswick, NJ
2019 — Untitled, Showcase in collaboration with Katherine Gonzalez, Rutgers, Mason Gross School of Art & Design - New Brunswick, NJ
2018 — Onward and Upwards, Rutgers, Mason Gross School of Art & Design - New Brunswick, NJ
2017 — Between Either & Or, Rutgers, Mason Gross School of Art & Design - New Brunswick, NJ
2016 — 5th Annual Ironbound Cultural Art Festival - Newark, NJ
2015 — 4th Annual Ironbound Cultural Art Festival - Newark, NJ
Exhibitions Curated
2024 — Diaspora, BOKEH Collective - Perth Amboy, NJ
2023 — Behind City Walls, BOKEH Collective - New York, NY
2021 — Unrequited, BOKEH Collective - New York, NY
2021 — Layers, BOKEH Collective - New York, NY
2021 — The Crowd, BOKEH Collective - New York, NY
2019 — Vision for the Future, Rutgers, Mason Gross School of Art & Design - New Brunswick, NJ
2019 — Up In The Clouds at GSAH - New Brunswick, NJ
Select Art Fairs
2024 — CONTEXT Art Miami - Miami, FL
2024 — The Other Art Fair - Brooklyn, NY
2024 — Art Palm Beach - Palm Beach, FL
2023 — Art Fair 14C - Jersey City, NJ
Residency/Honors/Awards
2025 — Project14C Artist Residency
2024 — White Columns Artist Registry
2023 — Best in Show, COLOR,Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition - Juried by Armando Jaramillo Garcia
2023 — Best in Show, 13th Annual Figurative Art Exhibition, Light Space & Time Art Gallery - Greenwich, FL
2020 — Exhibited Finalist, AXA Art Prize, New York Academy of the Art - New York, NY
2020 — Art & Design Department Award, Rutgers University - New Brunswick, NJ
2019 — Nominated for the Yale Norfolk School of the Arts Summer Residency
2019 — Works on loan at Rutgers University - School of Public Health Building - Piscataway, NJ
2019 — Gerard Russoniello Memorial Scholarship, Rutgers University - New Brunswick, NJ
2019 — Barbara And James Betts Scholarship, at Rutgers University - New Brunswick, NJ
Education
Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers, BFA, 2020
Select Publications
https://www.distilennui.com/journal/artist-angel-duran-reinterprets-the-tokyo-taxi-series-1986-2011-through-the-medium-of-oil-painting.html
https://www.axaartprize.com/duran
https://jcitytimes.com/at-a-grand-train-station-art-fair-14c-opens-with-a-head-of-steam/
https://vrallart.com/artist/angel_duran/
https://www.bokeh.show/editorial/a-deep-dive-angel-duran
https://notrealart.com/angel-duran/