James Wodarek shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning James, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
I’m walking a path, one that started very young and has never let me go. From museum classes as a child, to traveling Europe as an undergrad, to working professionally as a designer and art director—all of it has been grounded in the same thing: ART. It isn’t just what I do; it’s the only path I’ve ever known, and the one I continue to follow.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I come from a background in commercial art—graphic design, illustration, and art direction—and that experience has deeply shaped my gallery work. I’ve always been drawn to clarity and structure, so minimalism and stark lines naturally became part of my visual language. But I also balance that precision with expressive, painterly surfaces. That tension between order and emotion is what makes my work distinct, and it’s been a consistent thread through everything I create.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Who was I before the world told me who I had to be? An artist, plain and simple. In first or second grade, I adored Charles Schulz so much that I wrote him a letter asking if I could take over Peanuts when he retired. No one was going to convince that little kid otherwise—I knew exactly who I was.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
The hardest wound has been the death of my parents. It’s not something that heals or that I’ve ‘gotten over’—it’s a loss I carry with me. It’s changed how I look at time, memory, and what I want to make with my work.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes — the public version of me is the real me. I’ve always believed in showing up as my authentic self, so what people see publicly is really who I am day to day.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
I’d hope my perspective would be missed—the focus, attention, and care I bring to each project to make it meaningful for the people I work with.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jameswodarek.com
- Instagram: @jameswodarek
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