This piece was short-listed for the 2020 AXA Art Prize competition — hosted by the New York Academy of Art.
Fundamentally, Duran’s works 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.