Noah Becker (born 1970) is an American and Canadian artist, writer,

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

of ''Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art'', and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

saxophonist who lives and works in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

. He has written for '' Art in America'' Magazine, Canadian Art Magazine, VICE, Interview Magazine, The Guardian UK, and the '' HuffPost.''

Early life and education

Becker was born in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and grew up on a 40-acre farm on Thetis Island, off the coast of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He moved with his family to

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, at age 15, after their house burned down. He had little early formal education and did not attend high school. He was a student at Victoria College of Art, and completed a year studying saxophone at Humber College, before moving to New York in 2004, where he befriended saxophonist Ornette Coleman in 2011. Becker made a short film with Coleman available to watch on Youtube.

''Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art''

Becker is the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art'', an online

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

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. Becker has interviewed or collaborated with hundreds of prominent contemporary artists including: Frank Stella, Neo Rauch and Spencer Tunick. ''The Best Art in the World: 20 Years of Noah Becker's Whitehot Magazine'' - a 200 page hardcover compilation of 80 articles from Whitehot will be published internationally by Anthem Press in July 2025. The book features interviews and reviews. Selected interviews in the book are with collector Beth Rudin DeWoody, Bill Viola, Spencer Tunick, KAWS, Shepard Fairey and the David Zwirner represented painter Neo Rauch

Art

Becker lives and works in

and

. His oil paintings have been exhibited in numerous museums, galleries, and major art fairs in Canada, the United States and Europe, including in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Toronto, Montreal,

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He had a New York solo exhibition in November, 2013. 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. Becker attended the DESTE Foundation's George Condo opening on Hydra Island in Greece in 2024, hosted by legendary Greek art collector Dakis Joannou. Other attendees included artists Jeff Koons and Maurizio Cattelan. Becker made international headlines after co-organizing an art show of Anna Sorokin's drawings and working on it with her while she was still in jail. The show "Free Anna Delvey" took place on the lower east side of Manhattan. Noah Becker's paintings have been written about by legendary NYC writers such as Donald Kuspit and Anthony Haden-Guest.

Music

Becker's first album, ''Where We Are'', from 2000 features guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. Becker's recent 2024 quartet album
Mode For Noah
' reached the top 10 most added on the Jazzweek 2024 US Jazz radio chart. ''Mode for Noah'' features an all Canadian backing band of Brent Jarvis on piano, Kosma Busheikin on Bass and Graham Villette on drums and Becker on alto saxophone. 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.

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. NYArts magazine named him as one of their ''30 Artists To Watch in 2012''. 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, and was added to the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, in May, 2014.

References

External links

''Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art'' Homepage

Noah Becker Paintings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Noah 1970 births Living people American emigrants to Canada Art writers Artists from Victoria, British Columbia Musicians from Victoria, British Columbia Canadian jazz saxophonists Male saxophonists 20th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters 21st-century Canadian painters Writers from Victoria, British Columbia 21st-century saxophonists 21st-century Canadian male musicians Canadian male jazz musicians 20th-century Canadian male artists 21st-century Canadian male artists