As a child of the 1990s, Centerburg artist Chris Duda draws his inspiration from that era.
"I was born in 1992," he said. “I was influenced by cartoons, animation, pop culture and the vibrancy of neon colors from the ‘90s, anything from cartoons to advertisements.”
Today, the Columbus native has created a career as an artist who’s not afraid to challenge perceptions. Some could describe Duda's artwork as abstract. Others say it is a bit Norman Rockwell but with a cartoonish vibe.
Consider his take on a classic work of art by Leonardo Da Vinci.
“I also like incorporating a bit of scariness and a twinge into my pictures,” Duda said. “For example, I did a neon Mona Lisa painting, and you know, in my pop graffiti styling, and I made her have bulging eyes and a vampire's face."
The iconic Mona Lisa with bulging eyes and the face of a vampire seems a little sacrilegious. But Duda was trying to modernize it using pop art and cartoon styling.
"I was just trying to convey the message that beauty is in the eye of the beholder," Duda said. "And show even beautiful things have dark sides to them. The use of vampire fangs and bulging eyes indicate '90s-era horror pop art and cartoon stylings. I just started to incorporate all those things into the piece."
Whether his art could be called iconoclastic or not, it is nonetheless sought by collectors across the globe. Duda explains his slogan: “internationally collected artist."
"I have original artworks on every continent except Antarctica," he said. "Multiple people in different countries own my original artworks, and then even more, so some people own my signed prints or other merchandise."
Another eye-opening piece is Duda's "Cow Friend." It depicts a cow in a farm scene where it befriends a one-eyed alien.
"It's a cow with an alien beside him – similar to Mona Lisa, but very vibrant, poppy and appealing to the eye. But a dark twinge of having a distorted-looking cow and an alien with it. I try to get my viewers to think about life's beautiful, incredible things while acknowledging the dark and sinister things in our world.”
Duda said he has accumulated 1 billion views across all of his online platforms. He's a digital creator for Meta, the Facebook and Instagram parent company. He's also a verified Giphy artist, creating usable story sticker designs for the public.
"I combine my art process using time-lapse videos," Duda said. “It makes it easier to digest for the mass public online. Because generally, the average period that somebody spends watching videos is 30 seconds to a minute.”
Duda's work, along with that of some newer artists, will be part of a gallery show opening from 6-8 p.m. at the Hilliard Civic Arts and Cultural Center, 5425 Center St. in Hilliard. The 2-month exhibit will showcase several public viewings. Portions of the proceeds from sales will go to Hilliard Arts to help in its mission of spreading art in the communities and giving underdeveloped areas more opportunities, Duda said.
For more information, visit his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/chris.duda.3.
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