Noah Becker (born 1970)[2] is an American and Canadian artist, writer, publisher of Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art, and jazz saxophonist who lives and works in New York City and Vancouver Island.[3][4][5][6] He is a contributing writer for Art in America Magazine, Canadian Art Magazine and the Huffington Post.[2][7]
Early life and education
Becker was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up on a 40-acre farm on Thetis Island, off the coast of British Columbia, Canada.[4][8] He moved with his family to Victoria, British Columbia, at age 15, after their house burned down.[4] He had little early formal education and did not attend high school.[5] He was a student at Victoria College of Art,[4] and completed a year studying saxophone at Humber College,[9] before moving to New York in 2004.[10]
Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art
Becker is the founder and editor-in-chief of Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art, an online contemporary art magazine that was established in 2005. Becker has published over 700 art writers generating over 6500 articles on contemporary art in Whitehot Magazine. Notable art writers and critics who have written in the past or currently write for Whitehot Magazine include: Shana Nys Dambrot, Paul Laster, Donald Kuspit and Anthony Haden-Guest [9][11]
Art
Becker lives and works in New York City and Vancouver Island.[12] His oil paintings have been exhibited in numerous museums, galleries, and major art fairs in Canada, the United States and Europe, including in New York City,[13] Los Angeles, Detroit,[14] London,[15] Vancouver,[16] Toronto,[17] Montreal,[17] Miami and Switzerland. He had a New York solo exhibition in November, 2013.[12] Becker has a 2024 solo exhibition opening in NYC at Not For Them. Becker also shows his work with Kelly McKenna Gallery in the NY area and Gallery Merrick in Victoria BC.
Music
Becker's first album, Where We Are, from 2000 features guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel.[10] Becker's recent 2024 quartet album Mode For Noah reached the top 10 most added on the Jazzweek 2024 US Jazz radio chart. Becker as a sideman has recorded with Canadian hip hop artist Moka Only. Rosenwinkel and Only also contributed music to the soundtrack of New York Is Now, Becker's 2010 documentary on the New York art scene. Becker performed with saxophonist David Murray at New York City's jazz club The Village Vanguard in 2018.[18]
Awards
In 2009, Becker was one of 15 artists nominated for the RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) Painting Prize. This exhibition toured Becker's painting to Musée D'Art Contemporain De Montréal and the Power Plant in Toronto.[17]
NYArts magazine named him as one of their 30 Artists To Watch in 2012.[3][19]
Becker was awarded second prize in the College Arts 86’ competition judged by Canadian artist Alex Colville
Becker's work is in The Michael C. Williams Collection of the Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery at the University of Victoria in Saanich, British Columbia,[20] and was added to the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, in May, 2014.[21]
