Fundamentally, the works of Angel Duran (b. 1996 New Jersey, USA) serve as an exploration of the relationship between painting and photography. Thematically, they inquire into the role urbanization plays in social fragmentation and the disintegration of human interactions. By often depicting isolated figures roaming through empty and artificially-lit cityscapes, his hope is to highlight how—instead of forming intrapersonal relationships—metropolitan areas can help foster the feeling of isolation; But also, he hopes to form a communal experience built upon our shared moments of isolation.
A frequent technique Angel Duran incorporates into his paintings is the bokeh effect found in photography. Bokeh is defined as the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image; however, his intention is not to simply paint blurry photographs, but rather, to address a hierarchy through blurring. For example—while still able to use figures as his prime subject matter— the blurring of the image allows him to investigate artificial light as its own subject matter. Everything becomes equally important and equally insignificant.
Angel currently works and resides in New Jersey.
CV
Select Solo Exhibitions
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
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 — The Other Art Fair - Brooklyn, NY
2024 — Art Palm Beach - Palm Beach, FL
2023 — Art Fair 14C - Jersey City, NJ
Residency/Honors/Awards
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://vrallart.com/artist/angel_duran/
https://www.bokeh.show/editorial/a-deep-dive-angel-duran
https://notrealart.com/angel-duran/