Duke Riley (artist)

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The Acorn a replica of the Revolutionary War Turtle Duke Riley The Acorn.jpg
The Acorn a replica of the Revolutionary War Turtle
A naumachia held in the Civic Arena of Milan in 1807 Milan Naumanchia, 1807.jpeg
A naumachia held in the Civic Arena of Milan in 1807

Duke Riley is an American artist. Riley earned a BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design, and a MFA in Sculpture from the Pratt Institute. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. He is noted for a body of work incorporating the seafarer's craft with nautical history, as well as the host of a series of illegal clambakes on the Brooklyn waterfront for the New York artistic community. Riley told the Village Voice that he has "always been interested in the space where water meets land in the urban landscape." [1] He is represented by Praise Shadows Art Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts. [2]

Contents

Works

One of Riley's projects entailed a bar constructed from found objects in the concrete pilings that supported the humming Belt Parkway. Riley told a reporter for The New York Times that he charged for the drinks so that he was violating New York law by selling alcohol without a license as well as trespassing on federal property. [3]

In 2007, Riley launched a replica of the Revolutionary War era Turtle, a small wooden submarine designed to enable American patriots to sink British Navy ships by attaching mines to the hulls. He and two companions who had helped him construct the wooden submarine were arrested by the New York City police when they came within 200 feet of the Queen Mary 2 , without authorization, at New York City's Red Hook Brooklyn cruise ship terminal. [4] Jesse Bushnell, one of the men arrested with Riley, is a descendant of David Bushnell, the inventor of the Turtle. [5]

In 2009 he constructed four ships for the purpose of staging a Naumachia, a Roman-style gladiatorial sea battle staged for an audience. Riley's Naumachia, entitled, Those About to Die Salute You, was staged at the Queens Museum of Art in a reflecting pool left over from the 1964 World's Fair that was filled with 70,000 gallons of water for the occasion. [6] Since the weapons were baguette and tomatoes, and the audience as well as the warriors dressed in period costume, Artnet described the event as something between a Toga party and fraternity food fight. [7] Riley constructed ships from four different historical periods, including a model of his nemesis, the Queen Mary 2. [6] The ships were crewed by staff from four New York City Museums, the Queens Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Bronx Museum of the Arts and El Museo del Barrio of Manhattan. Although the ships sank rapidly, Riley told The New York Times that he considered the work of art a success since no one was killed, drowned, injured or arrested. [6]

In 2016, Fly by Night, a performance in the Brooklyn night sky by 2,000 Riley-trained, LED light-carrying pigeons enjoyed tremendous critical and popular success; The New York Times called it "a revelation." [8]

His 2017 exhibit, Now Those Days Are Gone, featured drawings and samplers depicting individual birds, mostly pigeons, as well as including a bicycle, army truck, and MASH supplies. [9]

The bicycle from Now Those Days Are Gone. Duke Riley Bike.jpg
The bicycle from Now Those Days Are Gone.
MASH Supplies (detail) in Now Those Days Are Gone Duke Riley MASH.jpg
MASH Supplies (detail) in Now Those Days Are Gone
Detail of truck dashboard of Now Those Days Are Gone with its "Teach Thomas Paine" bumper sticker. Duke Riley Dashboard.jpg
Detail of truck dashboard of Now Those Days Are Gone with its "Teach Thomas Paine" bumper sticker.

In 2018, Riley's work Fly by Night was featured as part of the London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT) 2018. A temporary artwork was installed at the end of the Ridgeway, in South East London, on land previously used as the driving range for the Thamesview Golf centre on the Thames Path. [10] [11] [12]

In the Summer of 2022, the Boston Public Library acquired Riley’s The Enchafed Flood (2020-21). [13] According to a New York Times article on the artist, this large-scale mosaic was partly inspired by the Great Molasses Flood of 1919, which destroyed several neighborhoods in the North End, Boston. [14] It is one of the only contemporary artworks that the library has purchased for permanent installation. [15]

Solo exhibitions

Group exhibitions

Awards, Grants, and Scholarships

References

  1. ↑ Life of Riley , Silke Tudor, May 23, 2006, Village Voice
  2. ↑ "Duke Riley" . Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  3. ↑ When Making Art Becomes a Night at the Beach Randy Kennedy, June 26, 2006, The New York Times
  4. ↑ "Makeshift submarine found in East River". August 3, 2007. Archived from the original on May 30, 2012.
  5. ↑ Egg-head skipper shore isn't upset Jotham Sederstrom and Christina Boyle, Daily News (New York)
  6. 1 2 3 In Queens, a Battle on the Low Seas, and May the Best Artist Win The New York Times, Libby Nelson, August 14, 2009
  7. ↑ Artnet, Duke Riley's Insane Triumph Jerry Saltz
  8. ↑ Smith, Roberta (May 9, 2016). "Review: In 'Fly by Night,' Pigeons Light Up the Brooklyn Navy Yard". The New York Times. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  9. ↑ Jen Chung. "See Duke Riley's 1,000 Hand-Painted And Embroidered Pigeon Paintings." Gothamist , October 14, 2017. http://gothamist.com/2017/10/14/duke_riley_pigeons.php Archived October 17, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ "8 shows you should see at this year's LIFT Festival". June 22, 2018.
  11. ↑ "1,500 glowing pigeons, a new Punchdrunk show, and a party in the Tower of London moat feature in the 2018 LIFT Festival". February 28, 2018.
  12. ↑ "LIFT - American artist Duke Riley's epic outdoor work". www.facebook.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Accessions: Three Artworks by Duke Riley" . Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Duke Riley: Grand Master Trash" . Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Duke Riley: Grand Master Trash" . Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  16. ↑ "The Repatriation of King Skellig Mör: Duke Riley" . Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Brooklyn Museum: DEATH TO THE LIVING, Long Live Trash" . Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Lovers, Muggers, and Thieves: Duke Riley" . Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  19. ↑ "DUKE RILEY : Now Those Days Are Gone - EXHIBITIONS - Magnan Metz Gallery". www.magnanmetz.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Punchline" . Retrieved October 28, 2025.
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