Much of Duecker’s early work focused on marginal members of society. He first received national attention in the 1970s for his “Drifters” series of stark, life-size cutouts of street people. Crouching, standing and sitting, these figures stared boldly at the viewer with uncanny realism and more than once caused panic when encountered by those unaware that they were looking at a painting. His “Help” series of cut-outs from the 1980s turned our attention on the often unrecognized service people who operate on the margins of our awareness. This was followed by a long foray into “still-life” painting in which Duecker upset the normal conventions of the genre by showing inanimate objects in motion, placing them in unusual settings and configurations, and intensifying his palette until the works became almost surreal.

His fascination with art history and the artists who shape that history has led Otto Duecker to return to the human image in a series of trompe l’oeil paintings of the great figures of the art world. These works, in which Duecker paints “snapshots” of famous artists casually taped to cracking surfaces, play against our expectations of the formal presentation of works of homage while startling us with their precision and beauty. They capture the character and determination of the men and women who have shaped our perception of the world through their artistic vision. He has expanded his subjects to include political figures and celebrities of prominence.