Meet self-taught mixed media artist, Chris Duda. When I say mixed media, I am not kidding, and you will soon discover why. Meeting Chris was like standing at the gateway into the world of a truly twenty-first century artist. Chris doesn’t even question the incorporation of digital medium into their work, since as a nineties kid, they were raised on it. Chris cut their teeth on Nickelodeon, Pokémon, and Yu-Gi-Oh, and if you look at their work, you can see clear evidence in the bold, vibrant color palette and darkly outlined cartoon style.
If I were to ever question the validity of the incorporation of Pop Culture into contemporary art (and I don’t), the hour I spent with Chris would dispel all doubt. Here’s an artist that maneuvers deftly from the side of an old railroad depot to a sticker you might use on Instagram—and lots of other places in between.
Chris was born and raised in Central Ohio, referring to their early years as “being sheltered,” the only experience with art being coloring and drawing. Chris’ strongest attraction to drawing came first with Pokémon, carefully replicating the images of favorite characters over and over to perfection. Later on, as their style became more refined, Chris expanded to studying Anime and Manga. As Chris grew older, they learned about a broader range of pop artists, such as Warhol, Haring and Basquiat. Chris also became interested in Graffiti, learning about the New York artist Risk, but it was an introduction to Banksy that helped them to develop a greater understanding of motive and message behind a work of art—of the substance behind the image.
The first piece that Chris shared with me was this, titled, “Primary Happy Dead,” a tribute to all of the persons whose lives were lost early on in the pandemic, in the spring of 2020. Chris cited the influence of Warhol with the repetitive image, and the influence of graffiti art with the splatters of spray paint. Chris also noted somewhat of a divergence from their typical style with this work.
During high school, Chris spent a lot of time with their Spanish teacher, Will. A year after Chris’ graduation, Will died. Chris created “Neon Sugar Skull” in memory of Will, combining the Mexican folk art style used in Dia de los Muertos with their signature style—a vibrant neon color palette, heavy black outlining, and white highlights.
Chris has built connections with the art community in Dayton, in particular with Bill Cunningham, curator of collections at The Orphanage Gallery, where Chris had a solo show in August of 2020. They have painted a ten-foot mural there in the style of this smaller piece they shared with me, titled, “Ooze I.” Note the elements of Chris’ signature style.
Chris demonstrates a curiosity to transfer their clearly identifiable style off of the canvas, and onto other surfaces, including a series of ceramic garden statues. A collection of binders with paint splatters and distressed surfaces are part of a larger work in process, as is the poem cleverly incorporated into a Sudoku puzzle.
When we discussed the incorporation of digital media into their art, I quickly realized just how integral the digital world was to them. Chris indicated a typical workflow for them was something like this: Idea to iPad, transfer to another surface or format, where the image becomes either physical or digital work. In the case of pieces like “Neon Sugar Skull,” an image is first carefully created and plotted out on a grid using Procreate on an iPad, then transferred to another surface, or modified into another digital format, depending on the desired finished product.
Chris also became verified on Giphy in 2020, a sticker app utilized by Instagram and Facebook. It is quite possible that you have used one of his designs as a sticker on an Instagram story without realizing it—his “Happy Birthday” has been used more than 480 million times! In addition to his digital work on Giphy, Chris has many images available as Non-Fungible Tokens on Ethereum.
On the topic of style: “My thing is getting it to look consistent with all my other works when it’s all said and done. No matter how I get to that point, it’s always different, but if I can get it to look at least like I’ve done it, then that’s… “If I can get to that end result where my brain is satisfied, if it looks like a Chris Duda piece, that’s really what I hope for.”
Chris is excited about plans for one of the busiest corners in Delaware, Ohio. In addition to fully renovating the small structure which will serve as both gallery and studio, Chris hopes to develop the land behind it, utilizing shipping containers as studio space for other artists.
Chris’ advice to emerging artists like themselves? Don’t stop working; learn as much about different ways to gain exposure.