Looking Back at 2024

For my last post of the year I wanted to look back at what seemed to matter most in my work with artists.  

My New Year’s Resolution, as both a friend and coach, was to “talk less, listen longer.” That vow led to another mantra that I like: ask better questions. Here are two of mine: 

1. How do artists reach the top?

The Whitney Biennial happened again this year, celebrating artists wildly diverse in terms of race, gender, and subject matter, but strangely uniform in geography. Over 80% of the artists selected live and work on the coasts, primarily in New York and California. I was tearing my hair over this when I decided to dig deeper. I found that most of these artists actually developed their work and careers through exhibitions in small art centers and museums throughout the country. Artists who reach the top have put in the time and effort to gain visibility by showing their work all over the place. Nobody starts with a solo exhibition at MOMA.

2. What are the myths holding artists back?

The primary debilitating myth is that you can’t combine a successful career with an authentic creative life. I believe the opposite is true, as I see how artists express their values through their work. Some do so through explicit social or political content, but that’s not the only way. Other artists let their art tell us what matters to them: the healing power of light in the landscape, the meaning of sound in the quiet waters of the arctic. Artists reveal the world to us.

So try, in 2025, to create work that reflects what matters most to you. Then share it with others.