Attention to detail is integral to Edreys Wajed’s success as an artist, but he’s careful to distinguish precision from perfection. As a graduate student in the University at Buffalo’s (UB) MFA studio art program, Wajed says he’s, “concerned about every brush stroke being intentional, as with every drop of paint. There’s an order to it.”
The last few years, Wajed has had a lot of success as an abstract artist. In 2017, he was selected as one of four artists to pay tribute to civil rights leaders and was commissioned to paint seven murals on The Freedom Wall in Buffalo, New York. He partnered with Yames Moffitt and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery to co-create “Love Black, 2020” at Say Yes Buffalo. Wajed is currently co-curating the exhibit “In These Truths” with the Albright-Knox. In addition, his artwork recently appeared in the HBO series “Insecure.”
Wajed credits the UB faculty and staff for his success. “[They’re] untapped gold. We’re talking about professors who have been teaching for 20, 30-plus years. They are invaluable resources and are key to anyone in the MFA program,” he says. “I feel like I have so much more to do and so much more to learn,” he continues, “but I also think about all the doors that might not otherwise be open to me if I didn’t have my MFA.” To learn more about Edreys’ work, please visit the University at Buffalo website.
Photo Credit: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki, University at Buffalo