Hector Duarte has been painting murals in Chicago for the past 24 years.  In that time he has completed some 50 murals through out the Chicago area and is currently working on a mural for the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen.

Hector Duarte was born in 1952 in Caurio, Michoacan, Mexico. He studied mural painting at the workshop of David Alfaro Siqueiros in 1977 and has carried his tradition to Chicago and adapted it for brick and mortar buildings.  Duarte moved to Chicago in 1985, and has exhibited his paintings and prints in solo and collective shows at such venues as the School of the Art Institute, the State of Illinois Gallery, the Chicago Historical Society, and the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, and Casa Estudio Museo Diego Rivera in Mexico.

“What do people learn when they work on a mural? They learn to work collectively, to consider others’ opinions. They begin to appreciate the walls in their community. When they add color to the wall—a lot of color, on a grand scale—they experience something unique, something emotional, something very personal. Something psychological takes place, and it almost always produces deep introspection.”

“I teach because I want others to have the chance to express themselves.”

—Hector Duarte

Hector Duarte has taught mural painting and printmaking in the Chicago area since 1990. He is a roster artist for the Illinois Arts Council’s Arts-In-Education Residency Program and has worked with Gallery 37, Urban Gateways, the Chicago Public Schools, and others.

There is a great article in the Trib about Hector

March 18th, 2009 Subscribe to the RSS feed!