Jurek Wajdowicz
1951
(USA)
Polish
Jurek Wajdowicz is a Polish-born American artist, graphic designer, and fine art photographer known for his minimalist, semi-abstract works.
His images evoke a sense of dreams, tranquility, and fleeting moments. He lives and works in New York City.
Education & Background
Wajdowicz launched his career as a graphic designer in Poland after graduating with a Master of Arts from the Lodz Academy of Fine Arts.
Jurek Wajdowicz creates contemplative, abstract images that actively negotiate the space between photography and painting.
They bring about an atmosphere of beauty, illumination, and wonder. Embodied in these fine art photographs is a personal response to his other work, in an adjacent world, as a graphic designer in active pursuit of human rights.
Wajdowicz is internationally recognized for his uncompromising photojournalistic collaborations with non-governmental institutions in places gripped in the throes of conflict or strife.
He rose to prominence through his design studio, which collaborates with leading non-profit organizations worldwide.
Wajdowicz's design contributions earned him recognition as one of the "Most Influential Graphic Designers of the Past 50 Years" in the 50th Anniversary Survey of Graphic Design: USA magazine.
Technique
Jurek Wajdowicz's camera serves as his sole artistic instrument. He eschews computer manipulation, instead crafting his images purely through the lens. This commitment allows him to transcend the literal.
By exploring light, color, and form, he creates works that dance on the edge of abstraction, some fully embracing it.
The resulting photographs evoke a sense of poetry or music. They invite viewers on a journey of personal interpretation, encouraging them to discover their own vision within the image.
Inspiration
“A luminous form in space...hovering between a photograph and a painting.
I want my work to float between representation and abstraction...perceived and imagined... emotional freedom to the viewer. A suggestion rather than a description. I'm concerned with the issues of space...light...tone. And unpredictability. Ambiguity...so critical to my work has a transcending effect of making the mundane beautiful...which in turn (hopefully) makes you wonder what you are looking at and why. I am probably most satisfied by my images when I can hear the music in them and the longer I manage to suspend this tension of not being able to resolve what you're looking at the more successful my work feels.”
Exhibitions & Collections
Wajdowicz has exhibited in New York City, Paris (France), Warsaw and Lodz (Poland), and Vienna (Austria).
His work is notably included in the collections of the United States Library of Congress (Washington, DC), the National September 11 Memorial & Museum (New York), the Museum of Modern Art (Lodz), Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (Hamburg) and the Rockefeller Foundation (New York), among others.
Galleries
WS-Gallery, New York,
NY
Nailya Alexander Gallery, New York, NY
