Art Problems

This week on the Art Problems podcast interview series "Inside Netvvrk", I'm talking with Brent Showalter, a multidisciplinary artist whose brilliantly colored paintings and photographs transform layered compositions of color and shape into vibrating surfaces.

Brent runs multiple businesses and brings that same strategic mindset to his art practice. In doing so, he's able to devote more time to his art. We talk about how his accoun...

This week on the Art Problems podcast interview series “Inside Netvvrk”, I'm talking with Ann Marie Auricchio, an abstract painter who creates work at the intersection of psychological and physical experiences.

Ann Marie shares what it's like to restart your art career after 25 years in another profession. She talks about why having all your materials ready isn't enough if you don't know how to use them, and how a shoulder injury b...

This week I'm launching 'Inside Netvvrk,' a new interview series with Netvvrk members. First up is Laurie Frick, a data artist and one of Netvvrk's founding members.

In this conversation, we talked about what it's really like to invest in your career when you're already mid-career. Laurie doesn't sugarcoat it: Netvvrk isn't cheap, and you need to treat your career like it's worth investing in. But she also shares what changed when ...

This week, accountant and artist Hannah Cole interviews me. As an artist who isn't (yet) a Netvvrk member, she had a lot of questions about how it helps mid-career visual artists.

Who is it for? How does it work? What makes it different from a course? Do you really need it?

We talk about why I started Netvvrk after years of cobbling together income from adjunct teaching and speaking fees, and how those early artist statement classe...

Eric Shiner, President of Powerhouse Arts joins the podcast to give artists the skinny on this new organization. This 170,000 square-foot nonprofit in Brooklyn's Gowanus neighborhood is fast becoming one of the most significant resources for artists in New York City.

Eric walks me through Powerhouse's seven fabrication workshops (ceramics, printmaking, textiles, wood, metal, and more), their artist subsidy program that makes these ...

This week we’re talking about how health events affect the lives of artists. Sculptor John Powers joins me as we share our experiences - his traumatic hand injury and subsequent cancer diagnosis, and my own recent double mastectomy.

We dig into the specific challenges artists face when medical crises threaten the tools of our trade, how we navigate the US healthcare system, and the mental strategies that help us maintain morale whe...

VVrkshop founder Paddy Johnson and artist William Powhida dive into their impressions of the 2025 Armory Art Fair in New York. In this episode, we explore how Frieze's new ownership has changed the fair's feel, from stricter security to the notable absence of mega galleries like Hauser & Wirth and Gagosian.

We break down the numbers - more than half of 2024's exhibitors didn't return, LA galleries dropped by 26%, and smaller wo...

What exactly is "art speak" and why do artists continue to use it when we all agree it’s creates a poor reading experience? In this podcast, I break down the inflated language that clutters artist statements—from "liminal" and "corporeal" to meaningless spatial metaphors that make work sound more complex than it is. 

Drawing on Alix Rule and David Levine's landmark essay "International Art English," I explore why vague academic lan...

In this episode, Paddy gives you the skinny on the Guggenheim Fellowship, one of the most prestigious awards for mid-career artists. The talk contains tips and strategies you won't find on their website, including knowing when to apply and how often. You won't find this information anywhere else, so have a listen. Even if you're not planning to apply, this episode will give you strategies for ALL grant applications.

Relevant link...

Artist Natalia Nakazawa believes this moment of extreme uncertainty is actually "artist time"—when we need to step up as visionaries and fill the voids that traditional systems are leaving behind. This is the second interview in my series on how to find hope through artistic practice. Natalia has built multiple collectives and focuses on long-term sustainability over quick wins. We discuss making culture essential infrastructure an...

After feeling demoralized by Trump’s election, artist Julie Peppito researched how to resist authoritarianism and merged her studio practice with street activism—what she calls "artivism." Peppito, who is leading Saturday's No King's protest in NYC, believes artists are uniquely positioned to break through disinformation as messengers and visual communicators. 

We discuss her four-part formula for building hope: community, social ...

When external pressures feel overwhelming and traditional solutions fall short, how do artists move forward? From The Whitney pausing its Independent Study Program to AI threatening brand partnerships, the challenges facing artists today often don't have clear fixes. 

Art Coach Paddy Johnson explores why believing every threat is already reality can paralyze us, how social media platforms prioritize reach over genuine connection, a...

At the end of 2024, artist Amy Kligman left her executive director role to create her own opportunities by identifying gaps in the Kansas City arts ecosystem. She launched Special Effects gallery to make local artists more nationally visible and the Salon for Possible Futures, an artwork that doubles as a community gathering space. We discuss how Amy navigates risk and uncertainty, measures success in experimental projects, and use...

In this second part of our two-part series on New York Art Fair Week, William Powhida and Paddy Johnson discuss the standout artworks from Independent, NADA, and Spring Break. Despite the thin crowds and economic challenges explored in Part 1, there were notable works worth celebrating. The conversation highlights vintage game boards at Independent, playful Nancy Drew-inspired paintings at Spring Break, and meticulously detailed hi...

Is New York Art Fair Week losing its momentum? This week, artist and critic William Powhida and I spent time at Independent, NADA, and Spring Break—and the energy felt deflated across all three.

In this first part of our two-part series, we dig into what went wrong. Thin crowds. Dealers complaining about slow sales. International collectors staying away due to political uncertainty and travel concerns. The overall market recession.

The Art Problems Podcast is back after a two-month hiatus — and I’m back announcing the biggest update in Netvvrk membership history.

The economy’s rough. The art world’s uncertain. And I’m not pretending otherwise. But that does mean that focusing on your career now can give you a leg up. 

This episode is about giving yourself that advantage by finding your place in the art world — and actually moving forward. Joint Netvvrk Her...

One of the best ways to solve the problem of not enough shows is to self-organize. No one can launch a show without networking, so it forces network expansion, along with solving the lack of shows thing.