AF: Congratulations on the book—it’s certainly been a long time coming. Let’s start at the very beginning. You mention that your mother, Florence, helped coin the name Whitehot Magazine, and that you drew early inspiration from writers like Anthony Haden-Guest, Donald Kuspit, and the late Robert C. Morgan. When you first launched, what was your overarching vision for the magazine, and how did you go from admiring these critics actually to having them write for you?
NB: When I started Whitehot Magazine, there was a paradigm shift with legacy print news media going online. Art magazines and the art world were not embracing that shift and holding onto traditional print objectives. I’m credited with pioneering online art magazines at that time. After the magazine started to get famous, writers gravitated towards me. It was quite magical. Coincidentally, Many were famous writers I wanted to work with.
AF: The book is organized into distinct thematic sections, from ‘The Painterly Tradition’ to ‘Politics, Gender and Race.’ Looking back over these two decades, which of these areas do you feel has undergone the most radical transformation in how it’s written about? Is there a specific critical voice in the anthology that you feel best captured a ‘before and after’ moment in the art world?
NB: My co-editor Mike Maizels developed the chapters that way, then we organized the content in that framework – I love the way that it works in the book. Art publishing has changed a lot since the start of Whitehot Magazine. I don’t want to take responsibility for the entire paradigm shift, but we definitely made a huge impact and changed art history.
AF: Which reviews and interviews from the book are your personal favorites, and in retrospect, why do they resonate with you?
NB: I selected my 80 favorite Whitehot Magazine.com articles from the 8000 articles I’ve published, and then we transferred them from online to print. Anything I publish that helps artists or pushes people’s careers forward excites me. I’ve been fortunate enough to launch a lot of careers and assist a lot of people in getting more notoriety – that goes for writers and artists. My interview with painter Neo Rauch is in the book; I like that one. I also write many articles about people who are already really famous. My conversation with the late painter Donald Baechler was good. It feels good to publish things in print.
AF: Print is a completely different animal, and there is truly nothing like holding a physical record of great artistic memories and shows. With that in mind, what do you look for in an artist or an exhibition before deciding to cover them or conduct an interview? Furthermore, what qualities do you seek in the writers you choose to publish?
NB: As a painter, I have certain tastes and interests – but what I like is not the point. I have to be aware that things I dislike serve a function for others. What that function is might be visual or political or something bigger than myself, so it’s not always about me. I like to see what the writers are interested in as a way of mirroring them, and them mirroring me, it’s “I’ll be your mirror” in the Warholian sense. At best, it’s a shared reflection of what is happening, not a mandate by a single individual or dictator.
AF: Having been at the forefront of the shift from print to digital art journalism, you’ve witnessed how the medium has evolved. In an era where Instagram has become the primary lens through which the public consumes art, how do you feel this ‘instant-gratification’ platform is impacting the authority and longevity of digital magazines? Do you see it as a complementary tool or a disruptor that threatens the depth of critical art discourse?
NB: I was publishing about Art before social media started. In 2005, there really wasn’t any Facebook or anything like that. And I was one of the first people to post and talk about art on social media. I know I’m making a lot of grand claims, but it’s true. Instagram, Facebook, and all that stuff is considered “old people’s social media” at this point. I don’t know what the next iteration will be or what they’ll be interested in, but I’m concerned about contemporary art. I don’t know what the next generations are interested in – I’m not sure Art is part of that conversation?
AF: You just touched on your own practice as a painter, and obviously, the release of this anthology is a massive milestone. Looking ahead, what other projects are you currently working on? Are you focusing more time in the studio, or are there new ventures on the horizon for Whitehot Magazine?
NB: I’m finishing my current series of 17th-century style figurative paintings and looking at galleries and museums for shows. I’m showing at Kelly McKenna Gallery coming up. My Whitehot Magazine Instagram is going viral, so I’m getting a lot of attention on Instagram. I’m also playing the saxophone in Brussels during the art talk. I’m also being interviewed in Brussels on April 24 at the Merode. Kendell Geers invited me. The last guests were Marina Abramovic, Koyo Kouoh (the late curator of the 2026 Venice Biennale), David Shrigley, Luc Tymans, and the next guest after me is Michael Borremans. It’s one of the best talks in Europe.
AF: That sounds like an incredible lineup of upcoming projects—especially the talk and saxophone performance in Brussels. To wrap things up, for readers who are eager to get their hands on the new anthology, where is the best place to purchase a copy? And where can they follow your latest paintings and everything happening at Whitehot Magazine? Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today.
NB: Noahbeckerart.com is my art website – @newyorkbecker on Instagram, @whitehotmagazine on Instagram, Whitehot Magazine.com, of course. The book is on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and the Anthem Press site. Or if in NYC, it’s available at McNally Jackson bookstore.