Josh Wald is a multidisciplinary artist living and working between New York and Lisbon. His practice centers on medium to large-scale paintings and illustrations that explore identity, perception, and a contemporary reimagining of pop art. His work moves between elegance, playfulness, and quiet rebellion, questioning how identity is constructed — and continuously reshaped — in modern culture.
Shaped by decades immersed in fashion, music, and urban subculture, Wald’s visual language reflects a tension between refinement and rawness, high society and the street. These contrasts surface as recurring questions in his work: Who are we? and how much of identity is a choice?
After early collections rooted in collage, sewing, and monoprint-based “push paintings,” Wald presented his first solo exhibition, Misphits, in New York in 2018. Following a period of pause during the pandemic, his move to Lisbon marked the beginning of a new body of work. His current collection, Becoming, consists of large-scale works that observe identity as fluid, performative, and continually in motion.
What ideas or moments tend to spark the beginning of a new work for you?
My problem is that I’m flooded with new ideas for creation constantly - the challenge is navigating them to keep them contained to the medium and collection I’m currently working. Because they all excite me, and they all want to be made, I wish I had more time, and more hands. The ideas though, are sparked from daily life, a color combination I see on a book cover, the park bench with a person on it, a couple laughing and interacting. I never know what exactly will spark it, I just keep my eye open and watch life move past.
Your work often explores identity and perception — what draws you to these themes, and how do they evolve over time?
You always hear people talking about “finding themselves”, there are movies about it, books, and songs, it’s something most of us can identify with. The way I see it, what, “finding yourself” means, is to find a version of yourself that you like, one that you chose - of your own choosing. From the clothing you wear, to your gestures, right down to your morals- you get to choose. You can also choose again as I find we all do as we age, mature. Who would you like to be in your culture/ society now? Maybe it changes as your face starts to age and you see wrinkles, or have a child, or become a grandparent. In any culture there are preconceived notions of how you are supposed to dress or act or be at a certain age perhaps, but you get to choose, will you conform, or not? Maybe you will find a highbred that feels “more you” to show a little of your individuality. The whole of life that is not spiritual in nature, is superficial, and is a choice. From that perspective I find humans fascinating! Life is a costume party and I’m just documenting the masquerade.
How does working as an artist in New York differ from working in Lisbon, both emotionally and creatively?
New York is a wild place with lots of energy, and I lived there since I was 19 years old. My visual art career fell into my lap there, and it was easy to make and sell there. But after covid things felt different from a life quality perspective and it was time for a change. My girlfriend and I traveled a bit until we found a home in Lisbon and the most amazing art studio! Creation just flows here, maybe it’s the calmness and beauty of the city, maybe it’s something I can’t quite put my finger on, but creation is flowing and the city has seemed to welcome us with open arms. We are both very grateful to be here.
Can you describe your current body of work and what questions you are exploring right now?
The current body of work is my collection, Becoming- an exploration into the struggle of human identity. The collection is made up of medium to large scale works that all depict close ups of humans. Each piece tells a tale of identity. I write about each one on my website, Joshwald.com. The pieces are clean and graphic from a far and might appear to you as “pop art”, but upon closer look you will find that they are made up of loose marks, scribbles, and charcoal and are anything but pop art. I hope to play on that misconception to further highlight our misconceptions while translating human identity in each other.
How would you describe your technique and process — from the first gesture to the finished piece?
I always start with a photo, either it’s one I’ve taken, or one I’ve collaged from pulled images. I always do a mockup. I typically do solid acrylic under painting to block out shapes and/or colors, then use watered down acrylic paint applied with a rag to accentuate the shadows. I use pencil to scribble, and charcoal, or colored charcoal pastels to define the subject. Sometimes I like to show you the collage in the piece by defining the collaged areas, and sometimes I hide them so it looks more natural. I occasionally add foreign material to the background to keep it playful and creative.
What role does scale play in your work, and why do you feel drawn to larger formats?
I find that large scale and small take about the same amount of time to complete but the smaller the painting the tighter the marks are, it feels more neurotic. There is a freedom to large strokes and large movements. But I also just personally feel more in the presents of larger works.
At this stage in your practice, what feels most urgent or exciting to investigate?
I’m always excited for the new collection because the joy is always in the conception for me. Creation is calm and enjoyable but navigating through all the ideas and coming up with one or a group of them that checks all the boxes is just so rewarding. I do it often that’s why I have so many collections in the barrel waiting to be rendered into reality. But I’m also excited to get into nature and create there, something no one can have or buy, but to just enjoy. It’s extremely important to me to create outside the realm of art and commerce, creation for creation’s sake is a magical and sacred thing.
