FolkArtwork and Friends

Susan Aberth, the Edith C. Blum Professor of Art History at Bard College, joins me on this month's FolkArtwork and Friends podcast to discuss spiritual artwork, tarot cards, ghosts, women surrealists, and the exhibit she recently curated at Andrew Edlin Gallery in New York City titled “Conduits of the Unseen: Women Artists Imagine Other Worlds”, open now until October 31st. We talk about the incre...

Earlier this summer I spoke with some of the most joyful and creative artists around -- Dean Millien joined me from New York City in his aluminum filled studio to talk about losing his toys as a kid and creating new toys out of aluminium, the recent success and joy he has recieved from his sculptures, as well as the artist talks and demonstrations he does inspiring people of all ages and abilitile...

I'm back at school! And there's no better way to kick that off than catching up with one of my favorite former students, Dismas Hill. We chatted about school during a pandemic, growing pains in high school and becoming more mature, prison art, as well as some of our favorite action films of all time, like "Hobo With a Shotgun". Be sure to come see FolkArtwork Collective in real life at Mainframe S...

Iranian self-taught artist Affsoongar joins in conversation from Tehran, Iran, to talk about outsider art inspiring her to make art after dropping out of architectural school, growing up in Iran, not seeing strong female heroes, making art during war, and the bittersweet emotions of having artwork at the Outsider Art Fair but not being able to enjoy it due to living in a digital blackout. Support...

In the twelfth episode of the FolkArtwork and Friends podcast, I talk to my good friend and art environment extraordinaire, "Narrow" Larry Harris. I can't remember the first time I met Larry, but I've been going to his website, narrowlarry.com, for years as he has been documenting, scouring maps and encyclopedias, and more to find any and every art environment possible in the United States. We tal...

In the eleventh episode of the FolkArtwork and Friends podcast, I am extremely thrilled to be joined by the one and only Ricky Boscarino of Luna Parc. I met Ricky a few months ago, and was blown away by his generosity to share the story of his one-of-a-kind art environment, and walk me through it for a video tour (check out YouTube!) on a bright and beautiful New Jersey day.  Plus, we talk about t...

Purchase Jo's book "Architectural Fantasies: Artist-Built Environments" from Tra Publishing here: www.trapublishing.com/products/architectural-fantasies Use promo code: AF15 for 15% off! -- In the tenth episode of the FolkArtwork and Friends podcast, I kick off art-environment summer with the one and only, Jo Farb Hernández, Director Emerita of SPACES (Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Envir...

In the second part of the ninth episode of FolkArtwork and Friends, I am pleased to be joined by self-taught artist Bill Miller, whose linoleum works of art are on display in the latest exhibit at the American Folk Art Museum, "Self-Made: A Century of Inventing Artists." Bill joins me to talk about his search for a very large studio, due to his very large piles of linoleum, which he uses in his ar...

In the ninth episode of FolkArtwork and Friends, I am honored to be joined by Valérie Rousseau, the Curatorial Chair and Senior Curator of 20th-Century & Contemporary Art at the American Folk Art Museum. Valérie joins me to talk about what led her to a career in curating self-taught artwork, which included growing up with two grandfathers who were both renowned in Canada, one for their work as...

In the eighth episode of FolkArtwork and Friends, I am pleased to catch up with my good friend Ryan Ward of The Ruffed Grouse Gallery. Ever since I was first mistaken for Ryan at the Outsider Art Fair in 2024, we hit it off, and he's been a great mentor and friend as he helps me navigate this world of outsider art. I talk to Ryan about his relationship with art growing up as a kid in rural Pennsyl...

In the seventh episode of FolkArtwork and Friends, I had a delightful conversation with self-taught artist Pam Puck. I've known Pam for a few years now and have always been blown away by their sculptures, but I've never really had a chance to get to know them personally. I talk to Pam about getting her start with ceramics in a kids' pottery class, teaching English in Italy, growing up watching 'Ro...

In the sixth episode of FolkArtwork and Friends, I am absolutely honored to talk with Nova Scotia's own Barry Colpitts, folk artist and wood carver, who creates some of the most magnificent works of art in North America. Thanks to Audrey Sanford of Black Sheep Gallery for setting this up, I get to sit down with Barry and hear about his beginnings, including his lack of relationship to art when he...

In the fifth episode of FolkArtwork and Friends, self-taught artist Esteban Whiteside joins on a beautiful sunny morning to talk about how growing up, he was turned off from artwork because he could never draw realistically. After his dreams of playing professional basketball were dashed (I can relate), it was the free time he had while bartending and working as a security guard in one of his favo...

In the fourth episode of FolkArtwork and Friends, a longtime friend and champion of self-taught, disabled, and overlooked artists from around the world joins me -- Jennifer Gilbert of Jennlifer Lauren Gallery in Manchester. Jennifer shares her background and her work as a curator and advocate for inclusive art, from studying graphic design to discovering outsider art through her work with artists...

In the third episode of FolkArtwork and Friends, instead of telling you about one of my favorite artists, I am joined by one of my favorite contemporary self-taught artists Montrel Beverly. This summer, Montrel was generous enough to create a few pieces of art for the show I curated at SAGE Studio & Gallery, and he continues to push the boundaries of what seems possible with art made from pipe...

In the third episode of FolkArtwork and Friends, I am thrilled to be joined by author and anti-authoritarian folk art historian Isa Segalovich. My former teacher of "Folk Art + Modernism" and I discuss the lightning rod moments that changed her mind from pre-med to trying to make the world a better place through artwork. We discuss her love for Wisconsin roadside art environments, the Mummers Para...

In the second episode of FolkArtwork and Friends, I am delighted to sit down and talk to my friend Alex Huninghake, the Executive Director of Outsider Art Museum & Gallery in Louisville. I talk to Alex about becoming disillusioned with fine art in Austin, Texas, growing up in Kentucky, and having folk art around his whole life, how his mom helped convince him to start a gallery for outsider ar...

In the first episode of FolkArtwork and Friends, I am thrilled to be talking to my friend Kylie Ryu, the Associate Director at Ricco/Maresca Gallery in New York City. I talk to Kylie about life before outsider art, how a random suggestion from her mom changed her art career, stumbling upon the world of outsider art, and how competitive cheerleading helped her land a job she knew she was destined f...

FolkArtwork and Friends is a deep dive into some of my favorite folk, outsider, visionary, and self-taught artists, and a conversation with some of my friends in the field about how they got their start, which artists inspire them, their favorite piece of art in their collection, and which roadside attractions their children went to kicking and screaming but actually loved. Once a month, listen, w...