DUFFY
AUSTRALIAN POP & STREET ARTIST
Born 1966 in Melbourne Australia Chris Duffy aka Ha Ho Art migrated to London’s East end in the UK where he remained & educated from 1970 onwards. As is the case for most of his generation growing up in Britain back then, it was an unsettled & often troubled childhood, as a young teen he would find refuge by ‘Wagging’ school & ‘Hanging out’ at the capitals national galleries. This was Duffy’s initial foray into art whilst being in absolute awe of the sheer audacious, brilliance, size, smells & genius of the great masters on display. Duffy knew there was only one path for him to take… That of an artist.
Returning to Australia in 1988 & after a 7-year stint working for his father in the construction industry the art bug struck again & he decided that the time was right to do something about it. In 1996 he enrolled at the Benalla Campus of Wangaratta Tafe as a mature age student studying for an associate Diploma in visual art. In 1997 Duffy enrolled at La Trobe University Bendigo where he graduated with a fine art degree with honours in 1999.
After a period of living by the bay on the Bellarine Coast painting & running a small local artists gallery there were extended periods in the UK & Vietnam after which Duffy returned to Bendigo in 2015 to live permanently. However, since this time he will often escape the cold Central Victorian winters opting for the sunny shores of the northern hemisphere & in particular the seaside town of Hastings East Sussex UK where he has a studio to paint but mostly to recharge & refuel his imagination.
Chris Duffy’s art is bold & colorful! Paintings in Acrylic on canvas as well as on board which are then ‘cut out’ using a jigsaw as an alternative display option. He is both passionate & excited to be a part of the “new” art movement Street Art! You will find several of his hand painted street art, murals & paste ups in & around Bendigo’s CBD under the name Ha Ho Art as well as other regional Vic towns & overseas.
Recent art practice highlights include: Giving Back – Large temporary mural using Indigenous materials as part of Science Galleries Melbourne & Bendigo Artist Inc ‘Disposable Art Project’ (Sept 2019) Live & in situ painting performance ‘To You, To Me’ at Exhibit B Bendigo Vic (May 2019) Solo show at Dudley House Gallery Bendigo Vic (June 2019 as part of the Dudley House Community Arts Program – Subsidy Grant) Wall To Wall Benalla – Street Art Festival (March 2019) & The upcoming Art In The Conservatory in Bendigo’s Rosalind Park.
He has exhibited extensively throughout his career in both solo & group shows, has won many awards plus admirers both here in Australia & internationally since embarking on his artistic journey.
