Duben graduated from Arnavutköy American College for Girls (Robert College) and received her BA in Political Science from Agnes Scott College in 1963. After completing her MA in the same field at the University of Chicago in 1965, she abandoned her doctoral studies in 1969 to concentrate on art. She studied drawing, painting, and sculpture at the New York Studio School between 1972–1976 and completed her PhD in art history at Mimar Sinan University (Istanbul) in 1984. Duben has also made significant contributions to art in Turkey with her texts and books. She was involved in institutions such as the Painting and Sculpture Museums Association and the International Association of Art (UPSD). She taught at Istanbul Technical University, Yıldız Technical University, Boğaziçi University, and Istanbul Bilgi University.
Duben’s publications include İpek Duben: Yazı ve Söyleşileri 1978–2010 [İpek Duben: Writings and Interviews 1978–2010], Türk Resmi ve Eleştirisi: 1880–1950 [Turkish Painting and Its Criticism: 1880–1950], and the co-edited volumes Seksenlerde Türkiye’de Çağdaş Sanat: Yeni Açılımlar [Contemporary Art in Turkey in the Eighties: New Directions], and Çağdaş Düşünce ve Sanat[Contemporary Thought and Art].
Selected solo exhibitions include The Skin, Body, and I (Salt Beyoğlu, Istanbul, 2021-2022), Angels and Clowns (Pi Artworks, Istanbul, 2020), in via incognito (Pi Artworks, London, 2018), They (Salt Galata, Istanbul, 2015 and Fabrica, Brighton, 2017), and LoveGame (Merdiven Art Space, Istanbul, 2017). She has also exhibited at the Social Work (Frieze Art Fair, London, 2018), 4th International Mardin Biennial (Mardin, 2018), Poetry and Exile (British Museum, London, 2014), 13th Istanbul Biennial (Istanbul, 2013), Dream and Reality (İstanbul Modern, 2011), and A Dream… But Not Yours (The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, 2010).
Her works are included in the collections of the British Museum (London), Wien Museum (Vienna), Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Alexandria), King St. Stephen Museum (Székesfehérvár), Museum Volkenkunde (Rotterdam), Istanbul Modern (Istanbul), Arter (Istanbul), Zorlu Foundation (Istanbul), and the Center for Book Arts (New York).