Miami based Waldo Worx explores the outer rims of our imagination, juxtaposing contrasting images and ideologies. His art often brings familiar elements in unfamiliar packages. A large portion of Waldo’s work is rooted in pop culture references. Movie icons, music legends, video games, and public figures are often prominent features in his creations. With Waldo Worx there is often more than meets the eye. A single piece can be interpreted in a multitude of ways, even by the artist himself. He has been quoted as saying, “My work is often 10 different pieces in one. When I start a painting it may mean one thing, half way through it may change form, and by the time I’m done I created something completely different. In that aspect I feel that the art creates itself and I am just the delivery method ” It is true that when staring at one of his works you often continue to see new things and feel new emotions each time you see it.
Waldo Worx began his journey with photography. “Photography is where I discovered my art,” Waldo says. After learning how to use digital imaging software and manipulate images he wanted to see how far he could push the imagination. He began imaging Godzilla enjoying a day at the beach while Darth Vader has an ice cream cone. “What I love about art is it is limitless. If I want to create an image of Barney Stinson riding a luck dragon over Manhattan while having a cocktail I can do it…and I did.” Waldo has spent the last few years studying and learning from Miami’s Wynwood Artists. His style is influenced not only by the pop art of Miami, but also the street art and graffiti of the city as well. He enjoys the work of Basquiat, Warhol, Britto, and Banksy.
Waldo Worx is intriguing, because he does not fit into the cookie cutter mold of the average artist. Many artists find their niche and stay in their comfort zone. They perfect their technique in cubism, expressionism, or line art on glass. Waldo refuses to do the same, saying he will not limit himself to a defined category. He does not need to fit into a predefined label people are used to, because his work is not what people are used to. In one exhibit you may see a surrealist digital image that has been painted over, next to an acrylic abstract work on canvas, placed next to a framed black and white portrait photo. His passion, his ideas, and his art are anything but the status quo. So, if you’re looking for an artist with a concrete style who paints only ocean scenes, birds, or red squares, this is not the artist for you.
Artist Statement
“Raised in South Florida but influenced by my New York roots I find inspiration everywhere. I could wander the Met for days, but just as easily get lost in the street art of Wynwood. It is my love for conflict and opposing mediums that drives my art. My mind is constantly filled with new ideas and new projects. I like to see things in new perspectives and capture moods and feelings. Art can be exciting, it can be thought provoking and enlightening. Every piece of my art is a reflection of some part of my past, my present, or my future. I think as an artist that’s what you try to do, is to put a piece of yourself into what you create. Perhaps then, that creation will exist long after me, and somewhere, someday, when someone comes across it they will say, “I feel this…” and in that moment I will return from wherever I am and exist in that place so long as someone is moved, by something I once did…
I always find it fascinating when I hear artists or art experts discuss what a painting means or represents. There is always some interesting anecdote about how a piece “confronts the struggle of modern man in an ever changing world.” While that sounds nice, my favorite thing to do, is to ask people who see my art to tell ME what the piece represents and what it means to them. I find their answers intriguing and fascinating, from the casual simplistic observation to the multi-layered subconscious evaluations. I once told someone what a piece I made represented and they were heart broken. I had unknowingly ruined their favorite art piece, because they had built up in their mind what the piece represented to them and they had formed an attachment to the emotion it created…
I decided from that point on, that I would never again completely break down the subtext of my art. I call it Schrödinger’s art. Until I explain the purpose behind my work, the piece is both what it means to me personally, AND what it means to them. What right do I have to steal someone’s personal connection to a piece of art? Michael Jordan said, let your game speak.” Indeed Mr. Jordan, indeed. My job is to create the art, but I will let it speak for itself.”
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