Bakpak Durden

Bakpak Durden (they/them), born and raised in Detroit, is a self-taught interdisciplinary fine artist. Pulling from various figurative art techniques, Durden employs a wide range of mediums—oil and acrylic paint, graphite and fine art photography —to construct their hyperrealistic and conceptual works of art.Durden's artworks illuminate the complexity and precarity of human emotion and identity by meticulously examining their own. 

Bakpak most recently exhibited work with Playground Detroit in Detroit, Michigan as well as Paradigm Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Durden just completed a breathtaking mural for the inaugural BLKOUT Walls mural festival in Detroit and a vanitas style influenced mural in St Petersburg, FL for the SHINE mural festival. They were a recent contributor to the GUCCI VS. EVERYBODY campaign, in collaboration with the Vs Everybody brand and Gucci in conjunction with Gucci Changemakers at the start of 2021. They are a 2021 Gilda Award recipient along with the Playground Detroit 20/20 Emerging Artists Fellowship and the Modern Ancient Brown Foundation Grant.

Bakpak is focused on continuing their work within their communities, highlighting black trans and queer visibility in addition to mental health, neurodiversity and disability advocacy/representation as a Detroiter in its robust art scene.

Their artwork is currently featured on Artsy, and will be exhibited at SCOPE Miami 2021. Durden's solo exhibition, “I Feel Like I've Been Here Before" will present a new series of oil paintings, on November 13, 2021.