Fidencio Duran (b. 1961)

Born in Lockhart, Texas in 1961, Fidencio Duran received his BFA in Studio Art from the University of Texas, Austin in 1984. He is the recipient of the Clare Hart deGolyer Memorial Fund Award, the Arch M. Kimbrough Fund Award, and the Dozier Travel Grant, all through the Museum of Art, Dallas. In 2015 Duran was recognized in the Austin Arts Hall of Fame with the Austin Critics Table. He has been featured in Philadelphia Weekly, Ahora Si, Latino Magazine, among other publications.

While best-known for his tremendous narrative murals throughout the state, Duran's artwork also appears in public and private collections in the United States and abroad. His works have been exhibited by institutions from San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts; National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, IL; Amarillo Art Museum; Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin, TX; Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, NM; to the Smithsonian Latino Center/Fundacion Oscede, Buenos Aires, Argentina. His work is included in the permanent collections of several institutions including: the Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas; The Austin contemporary, Austin, Texas; The Grace Museum, Abilene, Texas; The National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, Illinois; The Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, Florida; The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, Texas; and the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas, among others. Of note, Duran has the distinction of being the only artist to receive all three Dallas Museum of Art Awards to Artists.

Duran currently lives and works in Austin, Texas. One of his most prominent works, The Visit, graces the length of the ticket counter at Austin Bergstrom International Airport. His most recent mural, Following the Sun to Reach the Sky, can be viewed at Southwest Key Program in Austin, Texas, completed in the Fall of 2017.

Artist Statement

My work transforms personal and community memories into celebrations of culture, history, and the beauty in our everyday lives. Drawing with graphite I develop the idea using linear perspective to set a location and lighting for the narratives. Layering of opaque and translucent acrylics results in vivid fluid arrangements. They espouse the value of living in close relation to the earth, the strength of family, and community. My work is a form of cultural assertion by depicting aspects of my family's history as tenant farmers in central Texas from the 1920's to 1960's. With this narrative approach I also produce public murals portraying the cultural, economic, and political history of communities, neighborhoods, regions, and sites.

Selected Biographical and Career Highlights

• 1983 Clare Hart DeGolyer Memorial Fund Award, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX

• 1984 Bachelor of Fine Arts (studio), University of Texas at Austin, Spring

• 1990 Arch M.Kimbrough Fund Award, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX

• 1996 Dozier Travel Grant, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX

• 2006 Travis County Mexican American Trailblazer in Visual Art, Austin History Center

• 2012 Artist in Residency Program Fellowship, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM

• 2012 Jose Cuervo Tradicional Mural Project, national finalist

• 2014 Artist Inc., Live Austin fellowship, Austin, TX

• 2015 Austin Arts Hall of Fame, Austin Critics Table, Austin, TX

• 2018 State Parks Centennial Artist, Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission

• 2018 Awards of Excellence, Visual Art, Mexican American Cultural Center, Austin, TX

Selected Solo Exhibitions

• 2018 Fidencio Duran: An American Family, William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art, Houston, TX

• 2014 Tree of Life, Gay Fay Kelly/Prizer Gallery, Austin, TX

• 2013 Heaven and Earth, Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, Austin, TX

• 2005-2007 A Painted Memory: The Art of Fidencio Duran, Nave Museum,Victoria, TX; Grace Museum, Abilene, TX; Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin,TX; Chicago State University, Chicago, IL; Museo Latino, Omaha, NE; Mesquite Art Center, Mesquite, TX

• 1996 New Paintings, Lyons/Matrix Gallery, Austin, TX

• 1994 Family/Community: Fidencio Duran, Amarillo Art Museum, Amarillo, TX

Selected Group Exhibitions

• 2019 La Huella Magistral: Homage to Master Printmakers, Teatro Garcia Carillo Cultural Center, Saltillo, Mexico

• 2019 Works from San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, Stavros Lambrinidis, European Ambassador to European Union official residence, Washington D.C.

• 2019 The New Show, Foltz Fine Art, Houston, TX

• 2019 No Me Olvides/Do Not Forget Me, Big Medium, Austin, TX

• 2019 Recent Acquisitions, International Museum of Art and Science, McAllen, TX

• 2017 Of Texas Rivers and Texas Art, William Reaves/Sarah Foltz Fine Art in collaboration with Andrew Sanson/Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, San Angelo Museum of Fine Art, San Angelo, TX; The Texas State Capitol, Austin, TX; Witte Museum, San Antonio, TX; Mayborn Museum at Baylor University, Waco, TX

• 2016 Naissance, Gallery 701, Long Center, curators: Philip Rogers, Hallie Rae Ward, Austin, TX

• 2016 Texas Aesthetics X, William Reaves/Sarah Foltz Gallery, Houston, TX

• 2014-2016 Estamos Aqui, curated by: Brad Cushman, organized by: University of Arkansas, Mid America Arts Alliance/Exhibits USA, Shafer Gallery, Barton Community College, Great Bend, KS; Kenosha Public Museum, Kenosha, WI; John E. Conner Museum, Texas A&M University, Kingsville, TX; Oklahoma Community College, Oklahoma City, OK; Crisp Museum, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO

• 2015 Selections from the Contemporary Art Collection, Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin, TX

• 2014 Nuestras Historias: Stories of Mexican Identity from the Permanent Art Collection, curated by Cesareo Moreno, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL

• 2013 Para la Familia: Paintings by Rick Hernandez and Fidencio Duran, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX

• 2013 Significant Works: 25th Anniversary Gifts to the Permanent Collection, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL

• 2011 En Papel: A look at Contemporary Latino Printmakers in the U. S. , curators: Juan Puentes, Maurizzio Hector Pineda, Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA

• 2011 Arte Tejano: Of Countrysides, Barrios, and Borders, curator: Cesareo Moreno, Fundacion Osde, Smithsonian Latino Center, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Selected Commissions

• 2020 Building Leadership in the Community, Montopolis Recreation and Community Center, Austin Art in Public Places Program, Austin, TX

• 2017 Following the Sun To Reach the Sky, Southwest Key Programs, Austin, TX

• 2017 Fruits of the Earth, Dell/Seton Hospital at UT/Austin, Austin, TX

• 2011 The Role and History of Education in East Austin, El Centro, Austin Community College, Riverside Campus, Austin, TX

• 2007 Sunday Best, Harvest in September, Dell's Children's Medical Center of Central Texas, Austin, TX

• 2004 Strength in Caring, University of Houston Permanent Collection, Center for Students with Disabilities, Houston, TX

• 2003 La Quincenera, Austin Energy, Holly Street Power Plant, Austin, TX

• 2003 Montopolis, U. S. A., Tokyo Electron, Montopolis Neighborhood Center, Austin, TX

• 2000 The Last Haven, South Texas Independent School District, Biblioteca Las Americas, Mercedes, TX

• 1999 The Visit, Art in Public Places Program, Austin Bergstrom International Airport, Austin, TX

• 1996 Comite Patriota, Diez y Seis, Cinco de Mayo, Art in Public Places Program, Zaragoza Recreation Center, Austin, TX

Selected Public Collections

• Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX

• Austin Contemporary, Austin, TX

• Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IA

• Grace Museum, Abilene, TX

• International Museum of Art and Science, McAllen,TX

• McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX

• National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL

• Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, FL

• San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX

• San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX

• Witte Museum, San Antonio, TX

Fidencio Duran

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