In this episode, painter David Humphrey sits down with author Davy Lauterbach, artist Nicole Eisenman, and Trenton Doyle Hancock to reflect on the making of a book dedicated to his work — a conversation produced during the pandemic and guided by producer Todd Bradway. What unfolds is a lively, intimate conversation about art as community, the liberating strangeness of being written into a book, and the ways artists make worlds together. From Humphrey’s mash-ups of figuration and abstraction to Eisenman’s studio memories and Hancock’s reflections on distrust and momentum, the discussion offers a vivid glimpse into how these artists challenge and inspire one another.

In this episode, host David Humphrey joins artist and filmmaker Denisse Griselda Reyes in the P&T Knitwear sound studio for a vulnerable and playful conversation about queer failure, alter egos, and the messy artistry of self-invention. Reyes discusses their multi-year film project documenting and reimagining 30 dates in New York City, shaped by the chaos of the pandemic and an evolving relationship to performance and persona. Speaking candidly about the liberatory potential of "cooked" intimacy, Reyes and Humphrey reflect on how identity and heartbreak become raw materials for transformation alongside the haunting bolero “Qué sabes tú” by Olga Guillot.

Denisse Griselda Reyes is an interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker utilizing autobiographical narratives as source material to create contemporary fictions through re-creations in paintings, films, sculptures, and performances.

Image: Easter, ​ Courtesy of the artist.

Theme song: Tart Cherry by David Humphrey

Produced by Denisse Griselda Reyes

In this episode, artist and host David Humphrey sits down with celebrated painter Carrie Moyer on the occasion of her 2022 exhibition Morphologies at D.C. Moore Gallery. Their conversation opens with a probing exploration of the word "queer"—its political weight, cultural evolution, and contested use in contemporary discourse. Moyer reflects on her long personal and activist relationship with the term, expressing skepticism about its recent broad application, while Humphrey draws a connection between queerness and abstraction in her painting practice. Together, they unpack how language, identity, and form can be both tools of resistance and sites of transformation, especially post-pandemic.

Carrie Moyer 's sumptuous paintings on canvas reference Color Field, Pop Art and 1970s Feminist art - while proposing a new approach to fusing history, research and experimentation in painting. 

Image: Reverie (There's a Hole in My Bucket Dear Liza), 2021.

Moyer is represented by Alexander Gray Associates.

Theme song: Tart Cherry by David Humphrey

Produced by Denisse Griselda Reyes

Artist Tala Madani joins David Humphrey in a candid conversation about the raw, messy, and often humorous forces that shape her painting practice. They explore how vulnerability, material intelligence, and comic timing inform their grotesque yet deeply human imagery—turning shit, shadows, and sperm into sites of revelation. Together, they reflect on the politics of mess, the power of not knowing, and the urgent need to hold space for disorder in both art and society.

Watch the extended Interview on Vimeo.

Image: Spectre II, 2016. Courtesy of Perez Art Museum.

Join David Humphrey in this episode as he welcomes New York artist Jeff Gauntt, also known as DJ Wolf, ahead of their upcoming two-person show at Sikkema, Jenkins & Co. in 2005. Jeff shares insights into his unique artistic process, where his sculptures, often mistaken for paintings, reflect the music he listens to, treating each exhibition like an album with individual pieces as songs. The conversation explores themes of suburban life, emotional depth, and the influence of synth pop and industrial music on his work. Listeners are treated to a curated playlist featuring tracks from Wolfgang Press, Noi Button, Coil, and more, 

Jeff Gauntt makes paintings, objects, and prints in his studio, designs and builds costumes and props for performing (cosplay) at genre conventions, and makes signs and prints for covert interactive fan performances at live events.

Image: From the Southern Region, 2005. Courtesy of Jeff Gauntt.

In this episode, David Humphrey discusses the intersection of music and visual art with New York painter Stephen Ellis. Ellis, whose artwork often explores themes of repetition and variation, shares how his creative process was inspired by a profound musical epiphany involving Wagner's "Parsifal". This led him to see parallels between music and painting, particularly in how time and rhythm influence perception. The conversation unveils Ellis's curated playlist, which features music that manipulates time in intriguing ways—from Robert Johnson's raw, bluesy freedom to Vivaldi's pyrotechnic Sinfonia. The episode also highlights a hauntingly beautiful piece by Marin Marais, exemplifying the slow, hypnotic qualities that resonate with Ellis's own artistic approach.

Stephen Ellis is painter, an art critic, editor, and educator.  His paintings demonstrate an almost virtuosic attunement to color, while his grids and frames reference both Minimalism and a love of the film screen.

Image: Untitled (2002), 2002. Courtesy of ⁠Cornell Alumni Archive.⁠

⁠In this episode host David Humphrey sits down with New York painter Marc Handelman, whose work explores the intersection of ethics and aesthetics. Handelman discusses how his art navigates the murky terrain between beauty and moral complexity, while also revealing the multiple selves that influence his creative process. The episode features a diverse and eclectic mix of music, reflecting Handelman's artistic exploration: from the politically charged energy of Public Enemy's "Brothers Gonna Work It Out" to the haunting ambient sounds of Stars of the Lid. Listeners will also hear a range of influences including Mia’s satirical "Paper Planes" and Chopin’s contemplative Mazurka in A minor, each piece offering insight into Handelman’s dynamic and introspective approach to art.

Marc Handelman⁠ is a visual artist and teacher. Through paintings, installations, artists' books and other media his work engages the afterlives of the genre of landscape. 

Image: Crepuscular Dawn (detail), 2006. Courtesy of Marc Handelman.

In this episode, host David Humphrey is joined by New York painter and DJ Adam Hurwitz. Adam reveals how his painting practice, which blurs the lines between pornography and surgery, parallels his work as a DJ, where he remixes and reimagines sound. The episode features a mix of tracks, including Adam’s own dubby techno remix of a cosmetic surgery instructional video, as well as a unique Pet Sounds remix by Boolean that blends Beach Boys melodies with J Dilla’s beats.

Adam Hurwitz⁠ is an artist living and working in New York City whose current focus on computer generated video comes out of his knowledge of and experience in painting and drawing. 

Image: Scenes from Reflective Nostalgia, 2015 - ongoing. Courtesy of ⁠MacDowell⁠.

In this episode, David Humphrey interviews New York painter Richard Phillips. Richard presents a playlist that spans centuries, beginning with the evocative "O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana, and transitioning through European apocalyptic folk music to contemporary sounds emerging from Los Angeles. The conversation explores Richard's ideological perspective on how music embodies both beauty and aggression, emphasizing how his paintings evoke both love and violence simultaneously. Richard shares tracks from influential bands like "Death in June" and "Sol Invictus," which juxtapose haunting melodies with politically charged themes.

Richard Phillips (b. 1962) sources his subject matter from advertising, pornography, fashion spreads, and the news, to make hyperrealistic paintings that meditate on mainstream media’s obsession with sex, death, and power. 

Image: Blauvelt, 2013. Courtesy of Artsy.

In this chapter, also called "An Effective Low Cost Solution for Combatting Mind Control," David Humphrey interviews painter Bruce Pearson about his work and  how his music collection has grown over the years. Bruce shares his thoughts on psychedelia and appropriately, the idea of combating mind control in his practice. They also touch on the idea of hidden elements in his paintings, how he uses found text in his paintings, and whether or not Bruce has any guilty pleasure music. In this episode you'll hear music by The Boredoms. 

Bruce Pearson makes distinctive and hypnotic works that push the limits of painting. Constructed on Styrofoam panels, his paintings are fields of sensuous color and intricately creviced surfaces, with visceral impact and optical effects. 

Image: Hope and Comfort From the Other Side (2000), Courtesy of Bruce Pearson.