Meet Joseph Trask | Modern Contemporary Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joseph Trask and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joseph, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
People seem to think that when I started a business it was a giant leap of faith or he knows what he is doing. That could not be further from the truth. It was a byproduct of graduating from college with an art degree and some success in showing and selling work internationally and being lost. Everyone knows how being lost feels and that was how I felt. I did not know where to go and did not like how some of the local venues treated the possible future patrons of mine and my art. Maybe it came from years of working hospitality for a major theme park, or not always having money in my life, or the thought that no matter if you buy a print, the cheapest piece of art that I authored, or the most expensive. You deserve the best quality in terms of the piece and how I treat you. No one knows me and could do me better than me so I said let’s do it. Then I did nothing for months. I just sat there thinking I was not good or smart enough. Then one night sitting there bingeing previews of shows on Netflix, not series just the previews trying to find something to watch. I thought I had some business classes in college and I can do it. So I sat there and wrote on a piece of paper a business plan. I wrote it because if it is not down on paper and just in my head or on my computer than it was not real. The next morning I decided to rewrite it with a more clear concise goal and started the process. After that I slowly sold more prints and after months I had doubts that this was sustainable I sold a piece, then more pieces. More important than that talking and meeting the people who bought my prints and original pieces let me make a more personal connection with them. So it was not a giant leap of faith starting my own business but a series of steps, some small but steps non the less.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a modern contemporary artist who is known for vivid colors, free flowing dancing abstract figures, and playing with how shapes and line communicate with each other. Some call what I do pareidolia but that is what is not important to me. What is important is what you see and your story about my work. That is where I want to be. That personal moment where we connect through an emotional response with my work, That is what I love most about my work. The personally story from the viewer and how they see things I did not. I can think of no other medium I can do that in. One of my most defining moments was when I was working on a piece about the history of the symbolism of the cross and had a studio visit from the representatives of the Gaudnek Museum in Altomünster, Germany. Normally, I hide unfinished pieces that I am not feeling away but for some reason I did not put this one away. I notice how the owner an artist himself kept staring at it. So I walked up to him and told him about the piece and how it is not finish and I feel like it was missing something. He just kept staring so I grabbed a brush and painted a snake over half of it thinking of the serpent in the Bible at the time and by the time I put the brushed down the owner yelled, “I love it” and then museum wanted it for their collection. It taught me to believe in myself and trust my instincts even more.
My proudest moment is when I was talking to a woman who lost her husband who doodled all the time. My art reminded her of him and after talking we set up not your typical family portrait. I found out all about him and saw his doodles and found out the music they listen to all the time including the song from their first dance at the wedding. I sat down and made an entire country playlist which isn’t the music I normally listen to and started to sketch out the faces loosely while listening to the playlist. I wanted to embue this piece with love and sprit of this family. I kept in constant contact with her talking and asking question and much to my dismay redo her portrait multiple times until she was happy. Through the story she told I felt like I was close friends with them and when I finished the piece I cried over his death, over a person I never really met. I  then mailed the piece to her and heard nothing for weeks until one day she called and said she loved it and saw some of the doodles of his I hid in it. Then a month later I got another call from her saying she was just staring at it and saw some of their life together in the piece. I still get calls from her about something new about them she sees in the piece and how much it means to her. I am proud of that. Not selling a piece to a museum in Germany or show in Basel during Art Basel, do not get me wrong I love those moments and want more, but I am proudest of that personal connection my piece made to someone.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The thing about Florida is how everything is drivable if you have the time so of course if my best friend visit we would hit the theme parks, and dine nearby them at Cafe Tu Tu Tango. That would only take a few days and there is so much more to do like the Dali Museum in ST Petersburg, Clear water beach, then travel to South beach. If you have not then I suggest you visit PAMM, the Pérez Art Museum Miami, walk around Little Havana enjoying the culture and perhaps having a coffee which I seem to always drink too quickly. Perhaps check out a small art pop up show and of course end with walking around Wynwood.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Whenever the thought of who helped in my success the quote, “I am a part of all that I have met” by Lord Alfred Tennyson comes to my mind. There are many but a huge Shoutout to the artist at Cafe Tu Tu Tango. We are a band of small yet talented misfits who along the way helped me make smaller missteps, step up my game a whole lot more, and more importantly a group of artist who are not territorial but accepting and helping. Another Shoutout to Walt Disney World where I worked for most of my life for not only continually inspiring me but taught me how to treat my clientele, what to expect my end product to look like, and how to reach a personally connection with everyone regardless if they buy from me or not. More importantly a huge Shoutout to you the readers and people I meet every day. Without you looking at my work, telling others about my work, buying my work, or commissioning a piece from me: I would not be where I am today. I would not be where I am tomorrow either. For that I cannot thank you enough.

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