As a boy, Richard lived with
his family in Burma, Bangladesh, India, Uganda, and Turkey, as
well as spending extended time in Europe. His artistic career
began with photography and jewelry-making, in college. After
creating and exhibiting widely in photography, he became
interested in painting. A 6-month trip to Japan in 1981-2
confirmed his interest in Japanese abstract calligraphy, and as
the years went on, he also developed his use of color and texture.
A recent trip to India confirmed his deepening spiritual
direction. Additional interests include the art of ancient and
traditional cultures, Western art, particularly abstract
expressionism, archetypal imagery, ritual and spiritual growth.
The inner world is the subject of Richard
Duning's work. In his drawings, paintings and mixed media pieces,
Richard hints at the richness of the inner reality with images of
great emotional, visual and tactile intensity. In this recent body
of works on paper, he uses many layers of paint, along with
carefully juxtaposed colors on the surface, creating a special
glow, giving the impression that the light is coming from within
the image.
All these currents come together in the work
of the last few years. Richard Duning’s figure vessels hold fiery
transformations in their centers; circles and squares dance,
edging toward some eventual unity; opposites swirl, fighting and
merging. All are suffused in light, energy and vivid color.
The above text is from excerpts from
Nancy Correll’s writings on Richard Duning.
|