Duffy is a lifelong resident of Louisville, KY. After graduating from high school in 1971, he enrolled in the Louisville School of Art in Anchorage, KY to pursue his interest in drawing and painting. Upon graduating with a B.F.A. in Painting in 1976, he began working for the Louisville Museum of History & Science (now Kentucky Science Center) as an exhibits preparator.

During his high school and college years, and for some time after, Duffy primarily devoted his creative energy to producing poignant paintings, silk screen prints and drawings that conveyed his African ancestry, his personal experiences within African-American culture, and the elemental experiences of humanity that connect us all.

In 1980, Duffy witnessed a two-car accident that left a bank's marble columns in ruins. He felt compelled to ask for a chunk and after taking the stone home, he pulled out a screwdriver and a hammer and began carving. Immediately, he knew he had found his calling.

Learning from books and experimentation, Duffy taught himself to carve stone. After receiving multiple sculpture awards and many favorable reviews by professional art critics, he started working full-time as a sculptor in late 1980. In 1980, Duffy entered "The Warrior", a mixed media assemblage piece, in the annual Atlanta Life Insurance Co. National Art Competition and won the third-place sculpture purchase award, placing behind world-renowned sculptor, Elizabeth Catlett. Ten years later in 1990, Duffy entered a basalt stone carving, "Parental Care" in the same annual competition and won the second-place sculpture purchase award, placing yet again, behind Elizabeth Catlett. He retired his paintbrush and silk screen paints shortly after, but continued to create pen and ink drawings.

Best described as small yet monumental, Duffy's figurative and abstract sculptures have won numerous purchase and merit awards in exhibitions throughout the United States. They have been purchased by several private, corporate and public organizations including Phillip Morris USA, Brown-Forman Corporation, Kentucky Fried Chicken (now YUM! Brands, Inc.), Humana Inc. and the J.B. Speed Art Museum.

Although Duffy's primary career focus has been creating table-top sized stone sculptures, he has also expanded his repertoire to include large public works. Among his commissions are: Red Geranium Enterprises, New Harmony, IN (Charlamagne, Painted Wood Bas Relief-1993); Farmington Historic Plantation, Louisville, KY (Slave Memorial Bronze Bas Relief-2003); Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Bardstown, KY (Mother Mary, Bronze Sculpture-2004) and IDEAS X-Lab, Louisville, KY (On the Banks of Freedom Slave Memorial Stone Benches-2021).

Additionally, Duffy has been commissioned to create numerous awards over the years for organizations such as: Louisville Central Community Center (Lyman T. Johnson Award); Organization of Black Airline Pilots; City of Louisville (Dream Award); West Louisville Boys Choir (Hope Award); Louisville Youth Choir (Village Award); Kentucky Arts Council (Governor's Awards in the Arts); Louisville Visual Art Association (LVA Honors Awards) and Goodwill Industries (Hand Up Award).

Duffy has always shared his talents by teaching, and over the past 40+ years he has taught all ages from every social and economic background. In February 1997, he received an official commendation from the Board of Education for "sharing his outstanding artistic gifts with students and staff in the Jefferson County Public Schools". In 2018, Duffy was one of the first artists to be awarded Imagine Greater Louisville 2020 grants. One for his "Portraits of Pride" project, working with the West End School students on paper collages. The other, he received for his "In My Community" project, working with the New Albany, Indiana Griffin Community Center children on paper collages.

Most recently, Duffy was named the recipient of the Louisville Visual Art 2022 Legacy Award.

"I find his work draws me into its space and I can just gaze at it and feel mesmerized. There is absolutely no way you can walk past his work and not interact with it." Gill Holland, Louisville Businessman, Real Estate Developer

"The strength of Duffy's work, dealing with family and nurturing, is POWERFUL. That bulk and yet that sensitiveness..." Ed Hamilton, Sculptor

"Duffy's work is always both sensitive yet powerful. His vision and sense of space is wonderful." Bob Markert, Retired Executive Director at Stained Glass School

"I have always admired his ability to create sculptures that combine massive figures with tenderness and grace." Dave Caudill, Sculptor


 

COMMISSIONS
• Bingham Foundation for Women
• Capital Holding Corp.
• Farmington African-American Slave Monument
• J.B. Speed Art Museum
• National Black Professional Development Corp.
• Red Geranium Enterprises (New Harmony, Indiana
• The Louisville Orchestra
• Presbyterian Church, USA
• Lincoln Foundation
• Jane Blaffer Owen Trust
• Holy Rosary Catholic Church
• West Louisville Boy’s Choir
• Louisville Central Community Center, Inc.
• Simmons College of Kentucky
• Freedom Metals, Inc.
• Kentucky Arts Council – 2007-2008 Governor’s Awards
• Louisville Visual Arts – 2021 Honors Awards
• Creative Agents of Change Foundation, d/b/a IDEASxLab

EXHIBITIONS AND AWARDS Frequent showings in the region since 1976. Highlights include:
1988 - J.B. Speed Museum - one man show
1990 - Atlanta Life Insurance Co. National Art Competition - 2nd place purchase award
1993 - Southern Baptist Theological Seminary - one man show
1994 - Kentucky Art & Craft Foundation Gallery - Kentucky Stone Sculptors
2002 – Nazareth College Arts Gallery – group show
2002 - National Black Development Corporation
2009 - African American Art Exhibition at Actors Theatre of Louisville - merit award
2009 – Carnegie Arts Center (New Albany, IN) – one man show
2010 - African American Art Exhibition at Actors Theatre of Louisville - merit award
2010 - Water Tower Regional - merit award
2010 - Jewish Community Center - one man show
2010 - Muhammad Ali Center - group show/curator
2011 - IdeaFestival - one man show
2012 - African American Art Exhibition at Actors Theatre of Louisville
2012 - "Commissioned to Create: Works by Artists who Created the Governor's Awards (1993-2011)"
2013 - Southern Indiana Arts Council "Bright Lights" Exhibit
2013 - Louisville Visual Art Association "Artebella by the Numbers" Exhibit
2014 - Koi Gallery - one man show
2014 - The Bob Lockhart Student Alumni Exhibition,"Bobzilla:The Legacy of Lockhart"– Bob's best student's work
2017 - Kentucky Center for African American Heritage - one man show
2018 - 1619 Flux Gallery - "It's Your World 2018-The Future of Community"- group show
2018 - 1619 Flux Gallery - "Visions of Power: Artists Exploring Personal and Collective Change" - group show
2018 - Janice Mason Art Museum (Cadiz, KY)/Louisville Visual Art- "Louisville Artists: Carry On": Artists who have made careers in Louisville, KY- group show
2018 - Louisville Public Library - "The Modern Prometheus": An Artist Invitational Exploring the Themes of Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN-group show
2019 - Bill Fischer Award for Visual Artists recipient
2019 - 1619 Flux Gallery - "Montage Lives!: Our Artistic Past Informs the Future" - group show
2019-2020 - Louisville Metro Government -"Art in City Hall" selected artist - group show
2021 –KMAC Museum –"40 Years of Recrafting KMAC" –group show
2023 - Moremen Gallery - one man show -"My Muse-ic"- My Drawings & Sculptures inspired by Music
2023-2024- Moremen Gallery - "Perspectives 2023 "- A group show of works by Black Artists from Louisville and the surrounding region


Duffy's works have been featured in shows at Bellarmine University,
Spalding University and Jefferson Community College. In the area's
exhibitions of African-American artists' work, his graphics and sculptures have been recognized often with purchase awards. Duffy currently serves as a Board Member for the Kentucky African American Heritage Center (KCAAH) and was a past member of the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Public Art.