Duke Riley, a Brooklyn-based visual artist, is fascinated by maritime history and events around urban waterways. His signature style interweaves historical and contemporary events with elements of fiction and myth to create allegorical histories. His re-imagined narratives comment on a range of issues from the cultural impact of over development and environmental destruction of waterfront communities to contradictions within political ideologies and the role of the artist in society. Riley’s new edition with the Neiman Center highlights the infamous Newtown Creek, one of the most polluted bodies of water in New York City.

Riley’s edition was made using the technique of laser engraving, whereby a laser cutter engraved the bottom layer of museum board and subsequent pieces of matboard were laser cut and adhered on top of the initial engraving. The result is a low relief work that pushes the boundaries of what a print can be.   

Riley received his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and his MFA from Pratt Institute. His work has been the subject of numerous exhibitions including at the Brooklyn Museum in 2022, the University of South Florida Contemporary Arts Museum, Tampa in 2017 and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland in 2010. Creative Time and The Brooklyn Navy Yard presented Riley’s unprecedented public artwork, Fly by Night in 2016

 Learn more about this artist:

Artist’s website
Brooklyn Museum
Creative Time