about

Whitney Duan is an artist and creative director based in Sydney, Australia and London, UK. As a multidisciplinary creative, she has explored various mediums including painting, ceramics, photography, and design. Whitney immerses herself in the traditions of still life, landscapes, and portraiture, using them as a basis for meditation, extension, and subversion. Whitney is a two-time Archibald Prize Finalist in 2025 with her painting 'Banquet (Rainbow Chan)', and in 2024 with her painting, 'Fluffy (Jordan Gogos)'.

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Born and raised in Sydney by Chinese migrant parents, art has been her constant companion since childhood, using it as a vehicle to explore and meditate on life. Recognising her persistent interest in drawing, her parents befriended a Chinese-Australian artist who strengthened her drawing skills from the age of 10 to 14. Beyond these formative years, Whitney is largely self-taught, learning to paint, sculpt, and design through research and experimentation. She pursued a major in Art History for her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Sydney, where she was drawn to the authentic and deeply evocative expressions of pre-WW2 Modern art, particularly its focus on human experience and emotion. Continuing this legacy, she seeks new ways to convey complex, poetic, conflicting, and nuanced feelings.

 

Currently, Whitney explores the space between portraiture and still life, examining the relationship between people and objects. A hallmark of her work is composition, which she meticulously plans and considers. She believes that structure and form are central to expression, making composition essential to conveying the right emotion and story.

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For Whitney, art is a philosophical pursuit. Through the process of making art, she discovers, deepens, interrogates, and subverts truths and beliefs about both people and herself. It is a deeply personal practice that allows her to connect with the world in the most human way possible—through creation.