2024 highlights with Brian Boucher

Episode 456 Brian Boucher is an art writer, journalist and critic living in New York, with bylines at publications including the New York Times, New York Magazine, Artnet News, ARTnews, and many others. He previously served as a staff writer and editor at Art in America and a staff writer at Artnet News. He writes about crazy artists' projects (such as when Darren Bader offered his practice for sale), reports on the art market, covers developments in the art education field, and often reports on places where the art world and the wider world intersect, such as the potential cultural impact of the second Trump presidency and how Syrian artists and other cultural figures are looking ahead to a post-Assad era.  Here, he looks back on some of the shows, events and artworks that moved him in 2024, some of which he wrote about, including Bruce Nauman’s current show at Sperone Westwater, Marlon Mullen’s current show at MoMA, Guillaume Guillon Lethiere’s recent show at the Clark Art Institute, now at the Louvre, Christopher Wool’s recent self-organized show at a disused Lower Manhattan office space, the collective MSCHF’s piece “Met’s Sink of Theseus" in their recent Perrotin show, and some he didn’t write about, like the Maurice Sendak exhibition now at the Denver Art Museum and the Siena exhibition now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  He also talked about some of the live music that turned his crank in 2024, including Soul Coughing, Tigue, and the Jesus Lizard, and looks ahead to the farewell tour of the legendary British punk band Gang of Four.

Episode 455 / Mark Thomas Gibson Mark Thomas Gibson (b. 1980, Miami, FL) received his BFA from The Cooper Union in 2002 and his MFA from Yale School of Art in 2013. He was most recently named a recipient of the 2022 Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant and was awarded a 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship. He was also a 2021-22 Hodder Fellow at Princeton University and received a Pew Fellowship from the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage in 2021. He was awarded residencies at Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY, and the Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency by Collarworks, Troy, NY, in 2021; he was also a resident at the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH, in 2017. In 2016, Gibson co-curated the traveling exhibition Black Pulp! with William Villalongo. He has released two artist books, Early Retirement (2017), and Some Monsters Loom Large (2016).

Episode 454 / Xander Xander is a Boston-based multi-genre music producer and artist. His sound has been greatly influenced by electronic music. To make his compositions stand out in a multiplicity of genres, Xander continues to incorporate a variety of experimental electronic sounds, striving to push the boundaries of any genre he enters. He has produced with and for musicians such as David Guetta, Riton, Kevin Garrett, Meek Mill and other artists. Xander’s work remains driven by experimentation and overcoming limitations of genre and sound.

Episode 453 / Ray Hwang Ray Hwang is an artist from LA, living and working out of Ridgewood, NY. His work consists primarily of acrylic painting and drawing, in which he abstracts and layers imagery from his personal history to explore themes of family, home and inter-cultural contradiction. He received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2016 and has since exhibited throughout New York City and internationally. He has been featured in Art Maze Magazine, Vast Magazine, and has been a recipient of the Keyholder Residency at the Lower East Side Printshop (New York, NY), the Plum Lime Residency (Brooklyn, NY), and the Moosey Residency (Norwich, UK). He has shown with Tube Culture Hall (Milan, Italy), LaiSun Keane Gallery (Boston, MA), 81 Leonard Gallery (New York, NY), and at Spring/Break Art Show (New York, NY). He opened his first solo exhibition in New York with Latitude Gallery in 2023, and is currently a member of the gallery and curatorial collective Below Grand on the Lower East Side in NY.

Episode 452 / Liv Aanrud earned her B.F.A in painting from the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire(2001) and her M.F.A from Mason Gross School of Art, Rutgers University(2011). She has taught at ARTworks Charter School, Santa Barbara City College, the Armory Center for the Arts, and has designed and led textile workshops in the U.S and Canada. Aanrud’s work has been the subject of one-person exhibitions at Kravets Wehby Gallery in New York City, and  BozoMag, New Image Art, Arvia, 1700 Naud and TSA-LA in Los Angeles. Solo shows also include Finlandia University in Hancock MI, Sierra Nevada College, Lake Tahoe, Pamela Salisbury Gallery, and John Davis Gallery, Hudson, NY, Oasis Gallery, Marquette, MI and Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects, New York City. Her work has been shown in group exhibitions across the U.S., Taiwan, Germany, and Spain. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California. S&V Sponsored by the NY Studio School: The 60-credit, two-year MFA curriculum immerses aspiring artists in a rigorous program of study – awakening students’ imagination, ambition and dedication to artistic production. Each semester begins with an intensive two-week Marathon developed to ignite new ideas and generate momentum. The first year offers a range of studio classes, with a shift to personal development in the second year. Classes are bolstered by the Evening Lecture Series, technical workshops, one-on-one faculty guidance, group critiques, visiting artists, and faculty-guided trips. The weekly Critical Studies seminar explores a range of theoretical approaches to artmaking and culminates in a written thesis paper and Thesis Exhibition. NYSS faculty are internationally distinguished artists and teachers, dedicated to the School’s experiential pedagogy.  They encourage students to work hard and think searchingly, establishing ethical and philosophical frameworks for their life’s work. Enrollment is limited to 15 MFA candidates per cohort each academic year. The priority application deadline for programs starting fall 2025 is January 15, 2025 - apply today at nyss.org.  

Episode 451 / Jason Jägel Jason Jägel born in 1971, Boston, MA is a 2023-24 Pollock-Krasner recipient. A monograph of his work entitled, Seventy-Three Funshine was published in 2008 by Electric Works, San Francisco. His work is featured in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the UCLA Hammer Museum, among others. His 2018 public commission, The Author & Her Story, is a 13x34-foot ceramic tile mosaic at San Francisco International Airport. Landscape, his 2024 solo exhibition, was presented by Michael Benevento Gallery, Los Angeles. S&V is sponsored by the New York Studio School. Register for their programs here: https://nyss.org

Episode 450 / Bob Linder Bob Linder received his MFA from Stanford University, his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture. He lives and works in Los Angeles, California.  Bob is currently the Program Director for gallery Michael Benevento, Los Angeles. Consistent among exhibiting artists is a willingness to take risks, a total commitment to unique practices, and the precise and thoughtful execution of ideas. He is also a co-founder of the art-damaged, post punk, noise project, Total Shutdown.  Bob previously served as Head Curator at The David Ireland House at 500 Capp Street, where he curated challenging, relevant, and forward-thinking exhibitions and public programs. Prior to joining 500 Capp Street, Linder co-owned and directed CAPITAL, a contemporary art gallery located in the Mission District of San Francisco, where he programed more than thirty exhibitions with a focus on emerging and mid-career artists.  Sound and Vision is supported by the New York Studio School. For 60 years students have come to study drawing, painting, and sculpture in the historic building on 8th Street in New York City. The school’s full-time programs: a two-year MFA and a three-year in-person or virtual Certificate program, prioritizes learning through creating with a dedicated faculty of active artists. The programs cultivate studio skills, materials knowledge, and self-development methods. Whether you are an aspiring artist or an experienced artist, the rigor, community, and intense art practice taught at the New York Studio School will prepare you for a lifetime of artmaking. The priority application deadline for programs starting fall 2025 is January 15, 2025 - apply today at nyss.org.  

Episode 449 / Fred Tomaselli (born 1956, Santa Monica, CA) Fred has been the subject of solo exhibitions at institutions including the Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE (2019); Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, CA (2018); Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH (2016);  Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (2014) and the University of Michigan Museum of Art (2014); a survey exhibition at Aspen Art Museum (2009) that toured to Tang Museum in Saratoga, NY and the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn NY (2010); The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh (2004) toured to four venues in Europe and the US; Albright-Knox Gallery of Art (2003); Site Santa Fe (2001); Palm Beach ICA (2001), and Whitney Museum of American Art (1999). His works have been included in international biennial exhibitions including Sydney (2010); Prospect 1 (2008); Site Santa Fe (2004); Whitney (2004) and others. Tomaselli’s work can be found in the public collections of institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art; Whitney Museum of American Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Brooklyn Museum; Albright Knox Art Gallery; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Orange County Museum of Art, Santa Ana, CA; and many others.

Episode 448 / Akari Uragami is a Japanese multi-disciplinary artist whose work delves into the essence of human existence as a living organism. Her artistic expression, primarily through oil paintings and soft sculptures crafted from natural materials and textiles, offers a profound exploration of what human is. Akari earned her bachelor's degree in textiles from Musashino Art University, where she immersed herself in the art of traditional Japanese dyeing techniques. Her dedication earned her the Outstanding Graduate Award, and this deep connection to tradition subtly informs her practice. Her work has been showcased in exhibitions and projects across Japan, Korea, the USA, and Mexico, connecting with audiences far and wide. She has also completed a number of public murals across Japan and abroad including Tokyo, Kobe and Manchester (UK).

Episode 447 / Aaron Glasson (b Auckland, 1983) is a New Zealand born multi-disciplinary artist based in Mexico, City. Since completing a Bachelor's degree in Art and Design at the Auckland University of Technology in 2005 he has been exhibiting and creating public art works internationally. His diverse portfolio consists of participatory installations, paintings, drawings, sculpture, architecture, assemblage, murals and film. Though working in a diverse array of mediums Aaron has developed an abstract visual language that unifies his practice as a whole. His paintings rooted in geometry but inspired by time spent in the wilderness offer glimpses into micro and macro environments. Similar forms are applied to large scale interactive site-specific installations that encourage viewer engagement and participation as well as functional objects that explore arts practical potential outside of traditional contexts. Aaron has worked as an artist extensively within numerous environmentalism efforts, community organizations and educational institutions, using his art as tool for connection and learning. His art has been in group exhibitions at the East Hawaii Museum of Contemporary Art, the Oceanside Museum of Art, Heron Arts, Maia Contemporary, Goodmother Gallery, Spoke Art, the Straat Museum along with solo exhibitions at ICA San Diego, Swish Projects, Louis Buhl & Co, Maia Contemporary  and Curators Cube.