I met Steve this past summer at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture where we were both resident faculty. I quickly fell in love with his wit (biting), his work (also biting), and his tenderness (much less biting). In our conversation here, we cover his first experience with an artwork, his relationship to portraiture, and the origins of Modernism in the auction block.He’s unabashed in his distaste for prioritizing personal hardship to make art. In his own words, “This idea that we’re going to get together and have a party for our pain, and somehow art is gonna come out of that..? No baby, you better go to an observational drawing class.” Regardless of whether you agree with Steve’s perspectives, listening to him tell it is thoroughly enjoyable. Get full access to NewCrits Substack at newcrits.substack.com/subscribe

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related