Robert Duran

Robert Duran (b. 1938, Salinas, California; d. 2005, New Jersey) found his way from San Francisco to New York City in the mid-1960s, where he became associated with a Minimalist cohort that included Brice Marden, David Novros, and Paul Mogensen. Although he took up the visual conventions of Minimalism in his early Masonite and Novaply sculptures, Duran’s move to monumental abstract painting defied then-current trends. Working on his studio floor, the artist poured Liquitex acrylic onto unprimed canvas, staining his supports with colorful, floating shapes reminiscent of puzzle pieces or continents on a map. The resulting bold, entropic patterns were inspired by textiles and diagrams encountered during his extensive travels through India, Nepal, and Tibet. In the early 1980s, Duran dropped out of the art world to raise a family in New Jersey, where he continued to paint in his garage.

Until his first solo show with Karma in 2019, Duran had not exhibited in New York City since 1977, despite continuing his rigorous practice. He had presented six solo exhibitions with Klaus Kertess’s Bykert Gallery, and was included in the Park Place Gallery Invitational (1966), the Whitney Museum Annual Exhibition (1969), and the Whitney Biennial (1973), among others. Duran’s work can be found in the public collections of the Arkansas Art Center; Empire State Plaza Art Collection, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the New Jersey State Museum, Trenton.

Duran’s exhibition Robert Duran: A Survey is currently on view at the New Jersey State Museum, Trenton through March 16, 2025.

Photo: Stephanie Chrisman

Born 1938, Salinas, California
Died 2005, New Jersey

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024

New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, Robert Duran: A Survey

2019

Karma, New York

1977

Susan Caldwell Inc., New York

1975

Susan Caldwell Inc., New York
The Texas Gallery, Houston

1974

Bykert Gallery, New York

1973

The Texas Gallery, Houston

1972

Bykert Gallery, New York

1971

Bykert Gallery, New York
Bykert Gallery, New York

1968

Bykert Gallery, New York

1967

Bykert Gallery, New York

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

1977

Susan Caldwell Gallery, New York

1976

Akron Art Institute, Akron, Ohio, Contemporary Images in Watercolor
Emory University, Atlanta, Atlanta Collects
Georgia State University Art Gallery, Atlanta, Ten Painters

1975

Susan Caldwell Gallery, New York, 22 Artists
Susan Caldwell Gallery, New York, Summer Show
Lowe Art Gallery, College of Visual and Performing Arts, Syracuse, New York, Contemporary Paintings, Review of the New York Gallery Season 1974–1975

1974

Susan Caldwell Gallery, New York

1973

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Whitney Biennial
Vassar College of Art Gallery, Poughkeepsie, New York, New American Abstract Painting

1972

Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago, New York
Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, New York, Painting and Sculpture 1972
Vassar College of Art Gallery, Poughkeepsie, New York, Current American Abstract Painting

1971

Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Columbus, Ohio, Beaux Arts Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Exhibition
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC, 32nd Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting

1970

Bykert Gallery, New York
Aldrich Museum, Ridgefield, Connecticut, Highlights of the 1969-70 Art Season

1969

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York Annual Exhibition
Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Between Object and Environment, Sculpture
in an Extended Format

1967

Bykert Gallery, New York
Ithaca College Museum of Art, Ithaca, New York, Drawings
University of Omaha, Nebraska; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; School of Architecture, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina; organized by the American Federation of Arts, Rejective Art, curated by Lucy Lippard
Bykert Gallery, New York