Jurek Wajdowicz (born April 26, 1951, Cracow) is a Polish-born American artist, graphic designer, fine art contemporary photographer and art director. He lives and works in New York City.
In his graphic design practice Wajdowicz has concentrated on images of poverty, famine and social justice. Separately, in his semi-abstract photography he creates a more tranquil, contemplative, poetic painterly images. From 2009, Wajdowicz has focused on fine art abstract photography resulting in several ongoing thematic series. His book, Liminal Spaces was published in 2013. In 2018 Wajdowicz's 67/11 photo-book was published. His work was represented at the Kasia Michalski Gallery in Warsaw, Poland 2015, the Vienna contemporary art fair in Vienna, Austria 2015, Nailya Alexander Gallery in New York in 2016, at the Book Art Museum exhibition in Lodz, Poland 2018, at New York's EWS-Gallery in 2020, at the Nailya Alexander Gallery in New York in 2021, and at the AIPAD Photography Show, New York in 2023. Wajdowicz was selected as one of the "Most Influential Graphic Designers of the Past 50 Years" in the 50th Anniversary Survey of Graphic Design: USA magazine.
Life and career Wajdowicz began his career as an artist in Lodz, Poland, where he graduated summa cum laude with a master's degree in graphic design from the Lodz Academy of Fine Arts. After working on design projects for theaters and museums in Lodz, Warsaw and England (Pentagram, London), he went to the United States as an art director at Lubalin, Burns & Company in New York before co-founding Emerson, Wajdowicz Studios (EWS) with Lisa LaRochelle in 1982. EWS' partners and clients include international humanitarian organizations and non-profit institutions active in social change. From the 1990s to the present Wajdowicz and EWS created projects for the Rockefeller Foundation, Domtar, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the Arcus Foundation, International Rescue Committee, Magnum Photos, Freedom House and the United Nations, working with photographers such as Eugene Richards, Sebastião Salgado, Steve McCurry, Antonin Kratochvil, Deborah Turbeville, Philip Jones Griffiths, Richard Avedon, Elliott Erwitt, Jonas Bendiksen, James Nachtwey, Alex Webb and Gueorgui Pinkhassov. From 2013 Jurek Wajdowicz became the art director, curator and also a contributing photographer of the international LGBT-themed, photography books, a concept co-created by Jon Stryker and Wajdowicz. The ongoing series is published by The New Press including photojournalists Kike Arnal, Delphine Diallo, Misha Friedman, Sunil Gupta, Lola Flash, Steve McCurry, Maciek Nabrdalik, Jenny Papalexandris and Charan Singh.
Publications
Publications by Wajdowicz Emerson, Wajdowicz Studios: Graphic Design. EWS/HMP, 1998. Liminal Spaces: Fotografie_75. Lars Müller, 2013. With introductions by Fred Ritchin and Jennifer Sterling. Pride & Joy: Taking the Streets of New York City. The New Press, 2016. With introductions by Kate Clinton and Jon Stryker. 67/11. EWS Press, 2017.
Publications with contributions by Wajdowicz Endure – Renewal from ground zero. Jurek Wajdowicz with Antonín Kratochvíl, Gilles Peress, Carolina Salguero, Larry Towell and Alex Webb. Rockefeller Foundation, 2001. . Political / Social Posters. Jurek Wajdowicz with Andrea Castelletti, John Clark, Milton Glaser, Mark Gowing, Toshiaki Ide, Uwe Loesch, Joao Machado, Pentagram Design and Francois Robert. Edited by B Martin Pedersen, Graphis. 2015. . Robin Landa. Graphic Design Solutions. Boston: Wadsworth Publishing. Misha Friedman. Lyudmila and Natasha. New York: The New Press, 2015. Kike Arnal. Bordered Lives. New York: The New Press, 2015. David Brier. Great Type and Lettering Designs. North Light Books. Jenny Papalexandris. Five Bells. New York: The New Press, 2016. . Sunil Gupta and Charan Singh. Delhi: Communities of Belonging. The New Press, 2016. . Michel Delsol. Edges of the Rainbow. The New Press, 2017. Gabriela Herman. The Kids: The Children of LGBTQ Parents in the USA. The New Press, 2017. Maciek Nabrdalik. OUT: LGBTQ Poland. The New Press, 2018. Kike Arnal. Revealing Selves. The New Press, 2018. Slobodan Randjelović. Lives in Transition. The New Press, 2018. Claudia Jares. Dark Tears. The New Press, 2019. Jake Naughton & Jacob Kushner. This Is How the Heart Beats. The New Press, 2020. Delphine Diallo. Lived Experience. The New Press, 2020. Misha Friedman & Masha Gessen. The New Press, 2020. Steve McCurry. Belonging: Portraits from LGBTQ Thailand. The New Press, 2021. Sarah Mei Herman. Solace: Portraits of Queer Chinese Youth. The New Press, 2022. Lola Flash. Believable: Traveling with My Ancestors. The New Press, 2023.
Collections Wajdowicz's art photography and design work is held in the following permanent collections: United States Library of Congress (USA). National 9/11 Memorial & Museum (USA). United Nations Headquarters (Geneva and New York). Rockefeller Foundation (New York). Poster Museum, Wilanow (Poland). The Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Switzerland). American Institute of Graphic Arts (New York). Museum of Modern Art in Lodz (Poland). Arcus Foundation (New York). Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (Hamburg). Collection of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics (Culver City, USA) Book Art Museum in Lodz (Poland)
References
External links Jurek Wajdowicz's official fine art photography website Emerson Wajdowicz Studios (EWS) design website Kasia Michalski Gallery 2015 Jurek Wajdowicz Solace Exhibition Interview (in English and Polish) Liminal Spaces. Fotografie_75. Jurek Wajdowicz. Lars Müller Publishers Pride & Joy. Taking the Streets of New York City. The New Press Primary Forces Exhibition 2016. Jurek Wajdowicz @ Nailya Alexander Gallery Jurek Wajdowicz - Artists - Nailya Alexander Gallery Diverse Humanity Photo Books Series About | Diverse Humanity 67/11. Jurek Wajdowicz. 2017. EWS Press “67/11” by Jurek Wajdowicz. Book trailer. Book Art Museum 2018. Swiatla i Swiaty / Luminescence Exhibition „Światła i Światy” - Jurek Wajdowicz i Ewa Latkowska-Żychska Nailya Alexander Gallery 2021. Jurek Wajdowicz "Every Exit is an Entrance" https://www.nailyaalexandergallery.com/exhibitions/jurek-wajdowicz-every-exit-is-an-entrance EWS Gallery 2023. Wajdowicz on Artsy. https://www.artsy.net/artist/jurek-wajdowicz