Duff Norris (b. 1984) is a Brooklyn based interdisciplinary artist, curator, and writer working in performance and visual art, currently focusing in photography and performance for documentation and the mythos of objects and props. His experience growing up in the American West has informed his interests and practice. Being surrounded by the birthplace of artists’ communes (Drop City in southern Colorado, 1965) and the emergence of what became known as Shambhala Buddhism (Boulder & Fort Collins Colorado, 1971) he grew up with a unique brew of art and spirituality.
His practice centers on themes of intimacy, social sculpture, and direct address audienceship. "If I am going to make for you, why wouldn't I address that specifically and meaningfully? What do we particularly have to say to each other? What’s in the room when we are together?" Using personal narrative and portraiture as an entry point, he is interested in how impenetrable or porous these boundaries are and what motivates different choices within a work of art. He asks questions about what narratives we are telling ourselves, what our relationships to each other are, and if it is possible to be known and understood.
Exhibitions of his work include:
Trophy Guy, 2022 La Mama Galleria Manhattan, “Emergent Poise- Persona” 2021 On Canal Manhattan various work included, The Medium is the Message, 2021 “Quarantine Concerts” series Out of Site Chicago & Experimental Sound Studio, Impotent Heroism, 2020 “Inheritance” Super Dutchess Manhattan, From the Belly, 2020 “Looking Forward // Queer Futures” Save Art Space Los Angles, Intimacy Echoes, 2019 included in Tijuana Performa- Mexico & “Ignition” performances Manhattan, Wisdom Box, 2018 in Out of Site Chicago, Scattering/Gathering, 2017 the Walters Art Museum Baltimore, and Creatures of Which Landscape, 2017 Lake Ballard, Menzies, Australia. He completed a Master of Fine Arts at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in 2020 and Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2015 from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.