follow Dora Duran on her Instagram at @doraduranart
Who is Dora Duran?
Artist Bio
"One night, a dream. From a dream, my happiness. Happiness with a brush expanded on each canvas a different inspiration. The soul stirs, thus, the creation. Conception of a night rainbow, whose treasures are those I see as a reflection of my big dream."
- Dora Duran
The paintings of Dora Duran are an exponent of the high Modernist tradition that was part and parcel of what came to be called Abstract Expressionism. This movement has for so long been known for pure abstraction that one might lose sight of its origins in Cubism. Looking at Duran’s canvases, however, this Cubist origin duly comes to the fore. Duran is not only working within a cubist precedent, but she takes the gestural brushwork of abstraction, as well as the textured palette it offers, and creates paintings that everywhere verge of the figurative.
Duran’s painterly vocabulary is attuned to the terms and articulations of abstraction, yet the language she communicates with is wholly her own. The oil on canvas work Awaiting is a bold example of this. Through the seemingly violent brushwork, intimations of figures become apparent. These figures could be human or vegetable. In either case, the environing color scheme, which suggests the green shades of a garden as much as the flesh-tones of skin, ensures that viewers will look for objects forming out of wilding disorder.
Inspired by life experiences and nature, Dora Duran is known for creating art that is both thought-provoking and beautiful. To Dora, oil paint brings art to life, making it the most common medium for her work. Her artwork has been featured in newspaper articles and displayed at many art exhibitions. To view some of her paintings, click here.
Dora Duran’s gestural oil on canvas paintings are created intuitively and are often based on the artist’s memories. Instead of sketching or planning her compositions, the artist paints with spontaneity, allowing the application of paint on canvas to become her primary subject matter. She embraces the two-dimensionality of the picture plane, but her loose and painterly brushwork reveals hints of human forms.
Dora Duran was born in La Vega, Dominican Republic on April 28th, 1961 from humble beginnings and a very united family full of many talents. Almost all her brothers were musicians and she too dabbled in show business, going on tour around her native country putting together shows that included singing, dancing, comedy, and even magic. In this way, the arts started to influence her life from a very young age. Dora Duran first recognized her talent as a painter in 1974. Since then, she's been passionate about her artwork, helping people see life through her eyes as depicted in her brushstrokes.
1997 was the year that marked Dora Duran all throughout the Dominican Republic as an artist through a three day exhibition consisting of twenty-seven paintings called “My Great Dream”. The exhibition took place at the Dominican Republic Central Bank Club, in which both reporters and local civilians attended. Soon after this first exhibit, Dora was invited to participate in local shows such as, Orientando al Consumidor, El Dia, and many more. Since then, she has put together multiple art exhibits which have all been welcomed graciously by the public. Her story of struggle and triumph also appeared in many newspaper articles such as, El Diario Libre and El Nacional.
In 2002, Dora carried out ten exhibitions, successfully networking and expanding her artwork to be acknowledged in the United States, displayed at The Hudson Artists Of NJ, Inc. Art Exhibit with the help of Margaret Colavito and has participated in several others organized at the Union City, NJ City Hall by Amado Mora. Dora has volunteered to teach art classes at local Brooklyn, NY, elementary schools, helping children bring out the artists within each one of them. And today, Dora Duran continues to strive for her ultimate goal; for all nations to recognize and relate to her artwork and be comforted in the knowledge that comes from seeing themselves in her artwork and knowing that they’re not walking through this life alone.
Dora on Her Unique Style
My work is comprised of realistic, surrealistic, and also abstract pieces and my medium of choice is oil on canvas. My preferred style to paint in is abstract given that it allows people to look for what the work is trying to say, it makes them wonder what the intent of the artist was in making it, but most importantly, allows for each observer to interpret it in his or her own way and give it a meaning that’s important to that individual...