Fiona Alison Duncan

Mother load - recent outfits

Dream maps of North America by Canadian artist Greg Curnoe from 1972, 1989, & 1990. Curnoe also painted the hospital where I was born, his studio looked out over it - Victoria Hospital in London, Ontario, Canada. Here’s a picture of my mom looking at that painting. In high school, I slept under a reproduction of a Curnoe painting of a Mariposa brand road bike. He painted Mariposa bikes many times and ended up dying in a bike slaughter. In 1992, a group of seven cyclists out for a club ride, Curnoe among them, was plowed into by a pickup truck driver. Every cyclist was hurt, only Curnoe died. He was only 55. The driver was charged on 5 counts but acquitted of the crime. Years before, in 1965, Curnoe had co-founded one of the very first noise bands, Nihilist Spasm Band, cited by members of Sonic Youth as an inspiration. He’d also co-founded an artists union.

Another recent @cooperhewitt acquisition, Pippa Garner‘s THINKMAN (1984) is a rare-early-large-scale work by the American artist, industrial designer, illustrator, and writer known for her parodies of consumer products and social critique. THINKMAN came to the museum through the advocacy and scholarship of @fifidunks from the collection of Denise Domergue, a design legend, friend of the artist, and former neighbor in the storied Los Altos Apartments in Los Angeles. Denise acquired the work in 1987 from painter Nancy Reese, Garner’s ex-wife. Garner built THINKMAN in her Los Altos basement studio while living and working under her given name, Philip Garner. It’s constructed from components of another of her seminal works, PERMAFASHION SPORTS JACKET (984), a sculptural garment designed to evolve with the wearer as an expressive canvas. These works, also her HALF-SUIT (1981-82), belong to Garner’s early play with American codes of masculinity. Images of THINKMAN with its peekaboo cabinet doors closed; magazine tearsheet as found in Garner’s archive; and Permafashion Sports Jacket in Garner’s Utopia... or Bust! Products for the Perfect World (Delilah Books, 1984)

I had the best time, hope to do it again. Beautiful angels in a former women’s club. Recap edit by the 🐐 @bumblemeek . Hard to Read at the Variety Arts Theater x @juliastoschekfoundation , Los Angeles, full documentation now on @novembreglobal 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I 🖤 Hard to Read

The making of @misc.pippa ’s first “posthumorous” solo show, open until March 14 at LA’s @commonwealthandcouncil . Photos by me & Paul Salveson. Curated by her estate (me, @saradeirdreokeeffe & @christopherschwartz ), this show marks the beginning of the Pippa Foundation

How is my head so small and my brain so big

You’re invited to a variety show inside of a poem… Sunday, February 15, from 6pm to late, @hardtoread  presents a roaming night of performances and activities staged throughout the Variety Arts Theatre (formerly the Friday Morning Club–a clubhouse for women) With PERFORMANCES by Bunny Rogers @bunrogers , Lexee Smith @lexeesmith , #BarbaraTSmith, #PattyChang, Harmony Holiday @harmony_holiday , Alicia Novella Vasquez @lightlicker  (x Maya Martinez @hidingfrommystalkerok ), Matt Hilvers @matthilvers , The War Pigs @thewarpigsla , & NEW YORK @_n_e_w__y_o_r_k   Plus an all-ages Coumba Samba coloring station @savecoumba  @bierkebooks With on-site bookselling care of @storiesbooksandcafe , including SIGNINGS Shop BOOKS by
Bunny Rogers, Barbara T. Smith, Patty Chang, Harmony Holiday, Maya Martinez, Fiona Alison Duncan, Jason De León @jason.de.leon , and Coumba Samba Sunday, February 15, 6pm until late
Variety Arts Theater
940 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA, 90015

Free with RSVP (link in bio) This special event is composed in concert with “What a Wonderful World: An Audiovisual Poem,” edited by Udo Kittelmann and presented by the @juliastoschekfoundation  at the Variety Arts Theater from February 6 to March 20, 2026 (shout out team @robertschulte_ @mot_ ) Hard to Read is organized by Fiona Alison Duncan @fifidunks Flyer art by Chloe Maratta @chloe.slipper , repurposing a Los Angeles Times paper from 1924 reporting on the Friday Morning Club, the women’s club that first erected what is now the Variety Arts Theater

I love artists. Here are three views from our artist talk, one from Performa, one by me, and one by Dozie. Documentation of the performance, including a transcript, is on @c.a.library now @chuki_now @matthilvers @dozie.kanu @performanyc (photographer @wlodarczyk )

Still a magazine girl. Some fall/winter features: on goat art novels for @gagosian quarterly (illustrated by @klauskremmerz ).. a snapshot of my personal budget c. August 2016 is in the new @buffalozine .. on artist housing HELL for @alexcunninghamcameron ’s new HOME mag.. there’s a @hardtoread moment in @f_magazine (pardon my appearance, deadline outfit).. and we got @misc.pippa into @parisreview , or @na_son did The two art essays will go online in new year, but print is nice..

Please join us on Thursday, November 13th at 9pm for “Artist Talk” featuring Dozie Kanu @dozie.kanu , chukwumaa @chuki_now , Matt Hilvers @matthilvers , and Fiona Duncan @fifidunks . LOCATION Performa Hub 424 Broadway, New York This performance is FREE and open to the public. * “Artist Talk” is a multi-stage event that abstracts the traditional artist talk through an unassuming interplay of visuals, sound, and design interventions, featuring multidisciplinary artists Dozie Kanu, Matt Hilvers, and chukwumaa. The evening’s encounters are moderated by author and curator Fiona Duncan. Organized by Job Piston, Curator-at-Large, and Ikechukwu Onyewuenyi, Curator and Manager of Curatorial Affairs

I signed a lease in Ronald Reagan’s former residence and there’s a @hardtoread event in LA this weekend! Here I am at @chezfifinyc . Hard to Read is another #chezfifi. This Sunday’s event going to be great, the readers are all brilliant. It’s at a community compost garden in Echo Park thanks to @the.rot.squad @cassmarketos . Sunday at golden hour. Full details are in my last grid post & on the @hardtoread website hardtoread.us