John Duncan (born 1953) is a conceptual and performance artist. He was born in Wichita, Kansas, grew up in Los Angeles and began working internationally in Tokyo, then Amsterdam and Bologna. He started his career in the 1970s, and became associated with the West Coast performance art scene. His work often addresses issues of power, authority, and control, often involving elements of personal risk and danger.
Duncan’s early works included confrontational performances and public interventions. He has also composed a number of audio works, many of which incorporate found sounds, shortwave radio signals and field recordings, performing both solo and with many of the most accomplished artists in his field. Over the years, his work has become increasingly focused on spirituality, ritual, and the subconscious mind.
Duncan has had numerous solo exhibitions in galleries and museums, and his work has been included in numerous group exhibitions. He has lived and worked in Tokyo, Amsterdam and the area of Udine, Italy; he currently lives and works in Bologna. His creative activity remains highly influential in the world of contemporary art, with a pivotal role in the development of experimental music as a member of LAFMS, of Japanese noise and pirate radio in Tokyo.
Recent solo events include DECADENCE and Angelica in Bologna, VOD Festival 2025 in Friedrichshafen, ABON 2025 in Shanghai, WIF 2025 in Wrocław and NOISE Istanbul.
His music and performance work has been presented at Centre Pompidou, Nicodim Gallery (Bucharest and Los Angeles), Fylkingen, Gallery Niklas Belenius, ZKM, MAK (Vienna), MOT (Tokyo), MACBA (Barcelona), Super Deluxe (Tokyo), CCA Kitakyushu, MOCA, KPFK, The Getty Center, and The Box (Los Angeles), L’Arsenic and LUFF (Lausanne), Raum, Netmage, Decadence and Angelica (Bologna), Ars Electronica and the 2nd Gothenburg Biennial.
Duncan’s events and installations have been held at Alterfestival in Aarhus, Cirkulacija2 in Ljubljana, Nicodim Gallery in Los Angeles and Bucharest, Narkissos Contemporary Art Gallery in Bologna, Antumnbrae Intermedia in Austin, Flight Gallery in San Antonio, Flussi 2015 in Avellino, Immerson7 and Mutek in Montreal, ZKM in Karlsruhe, Gallery Mario Mazzoli, Peninsula Dotland, Mindpirates, Liebig12 and NK in Berlin, The Hermann Nitsch Museum in Austria, Fylkingen, Färgfabriken and Gallery Niklas Belenius in Stockholm, Performa, Gallery Michele Maccarone and PS1 in New York, Rod Bianco Gallery in Oslo, The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston, the NoorlandsOperan in Umeå, Instants Chavires and l’Echangeur in Paris, Le Lieu Unique (with Giuliana Stefani, Leif Elggren and Carl Michael von Hausswolff) and Cable# in Nantes, L’Audible (with Nico Vascellari) in Lyon, The Lausanne Underground Film Festival (solo and with Bryan Lewis Saunders), Fondazione Antonio Ratti in Como, Palazzo Appiani for PX2 in Piombino, the IPCA Ecomuseum (with Valerio Tricoli) for Eco e Narciso in the province of Turin, Teatro Piccolo Jovinelli in Rome, AngelicA (directing Ensemble Phoenix Basel), Raum (solo and with Ursula Scherrer) and Netmage 07 (with Leif Elggren) in Bologna, MainOFF in Palermo, Gallery Enrico Fornello (with CM von Hausswolff) in Prato, Cut and Splice (with CM von Hausswolff), [no signal], Beaconsfield (with LAFMS) and The Church of St. Giles Cripplegate (with Alfredo Costa Monteiro) in London, The Getty Center, Black Box, The Box, MOCA and KPFK in Los Angeles, ORF Kunstradio and MAK in Vienna, Ars Electronica in Linz, CCA in Kitakyushu, and the 2nd Gothenburg Biennial. He has performed with and directed Ensemble Phoenix (in Basel and Bern, as well as for the AngelicA Festival in Bologna), Musica Nova in Tel Aviv, Zeitkratzer in Berlin and Coro Arcanto again for AngelicA in Bologna.
