Meet Alex Duncan | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alex Duncan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, why did you pursue a creative career?
Art had never been presented to me as a viable career, so when I was figuring myself out in my twenties I tried so many different things I thought would be more lucrative. I wasn’t really happy in any of them, and I wasn’t willing to commit my one life to something I wasn’t passionate about if I didn’t have to. I studied art history in college, and in doing so realized I wanted to be creating beauty not just observing it. I joke I didn’t really have a choice in becoming an artist because it’s the only thing I could get myself to do, but there’s a lot of truth in that. Pursuing anything other than art felt like a betrayal to myself, so I pursued art.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I got started in art when I decided to ignore the advice of most people around me and ran off to France to study art history. It was one of the best decisions I ever made, and it’s had an incredible impact on my practice. Through studying images in an academic setting I gained the information needed to put to words what I was seeing, and that informed how I communicate through my work now. Using established visual language cues, I combine images spanning pre-history to present in order to tell stories that I hope have a universal emotional relevance. My most recent body of work was inspired by a lot of what I was feeling and observing during the pandemic. Anxieties were high, people were going nuts, it wasn’t fun times. I started creating worlds I could escape into to process my feelings in peace, and that evolved into an extended practice of using escapism in my art as a tool of reflection.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in McKinney, so we’ll hit up downtown first and go to local shops like Groovy Coop and The Menagerie. Of course, I’d have to show off all of the art DFW has to offer, so we’d go museum and gallery hopping. Two of my favorite shops are Curiosities Antiques and Dallas Vintage Shop where we’ll probably impulse buy some costumes. For dinner and drinks I love La Parisienne or Lexy’s.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to shoutout RTown Art Gallery in Grapevine. The owner, Rachel Townsend, gave me a shot when I was just starting to acknowledge myself as a professional artist. The community she’s forming around the space has been a major catalyst in my growth as an artist and business owner.

Website: alexduncanart.com

Instagram: @alexdunkieart