A Conversation With Artist Nicole Becher

By inside + out | October 24, 2023

If you have not yet seen the exhibit, Exquisite Corpse on display at the Everett and Treadwell building in Kingston New York, you have until October 29th to take in this awesome show! The exhibit follows the journey of seven artists/collaborators with one rooted seed – queer culture: past, present, and future. Each artist presents their journey as members of the queer community via the visual representation of a collaborative creative journey. Exquisite Corpse is named after a game from the ’20s where it was adopted as a technique by artists of the Surrealist movement to generate collaborative compositions.

INSIDE+OUT catches up with artist Nicole Becher, one of the seven artists participating in the Exquisite Corpse exhibit. Let’s meet Nicole…

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Where are you originally from, and how does that affect your work?

I am originally from NYC. I think NY’ers are inherent “doers” who are very adaptable and can quickly figure things out. That’s how I approach most projects. Many new projects I start I have never done before, so I’ve developed a pretty good framework to accelerate careful execution.

Who are your biggest artistic influences?

As a woodworker, George Nakashima has had a profound influence on my work. He believed creating beautiful objects out of wood gave older trees a well-deserved second chance at life. I see this as always trying to add some type of value to your work and to leave things in a better way than you found them. Haruki Murakami and Neil Stephenson are both writers who construct entire worlds with words. I am consistently fascinated with how different types of expressiveness can create such a universal vividness. Also, Ben Franklin and Da Vinci are unrivaled polymaths.

Tell us about your work as an artist?

I blend science, tech, programming, naturalism, fine art, music, woodworking and engineering. I really enjoy creating physical objects with utility, like furniture, and using technology and tech concepts to enhance creative expression. Right now, I am embarking on my most ambitious project to date, building a boat from scratch, which grew out of a modest custom furniture side business called Space Dust Studio @SpaceDustStudio.

What was your reaction when you were invited to participate in Exquisite Corpse?

Excitement. I had to figure out what Exquisite Corpse was and then was super excited about a non-traditional project.

Exquisite Corpse Exhibit: Artwork by Sergey Vershin, Abraham Cruz and Nicole Becher

Artwork: Nicole Becher + Sergey Vershin + Abraham Cruz

Tell us about your experience collaborating with the participating artists – were you intimidated, excited and/or inspired to add to someone else’s work?

All of that. There are extremely talented artists in this show, and I was mostly excited and a tad intimidated to figure out how to add creative value to the pieces.

Describe your creative process for this project, and did this change or evolve with each session?

Definitely evolved. It got easier to figure out what to do over time and became much more natural.

What was your goal in participating in Exquisite Corpse, and do you feel you’ve accomplished it?

My goal was to explore new creative mediums, and I definitely accomplished that.

What impact do you hope this exhibition has on the audience?

Inside everyone is an enormous amount of creativity and imagination. Exquisite Corpse certainly taps that creativity, but there’s so much more.

Exquisite Corpse Artwork by Nicole Becher, Abraham Cruz and William van Roden

Artwork: Nicole Becher + Abraham Cruz + William van Roden

Do you believe art can affect societal issues?

Yes, Keith Haring was able to use art to advance understanding of complex societal issues. Many major social and political issues of modern times are remembered via art, photographs, and writing.

What are you working on now that you’re excited about?

I just started building a boat, which will probably take a while and working on several music projects.

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Follow Exquisite Corpse @exquisitecorpse2023

Nicole Becher is a multitalented technologist with a passion for art, music, carpentry, electronics, and engineering. With a strong background in engineering and technology, Nicole seamlessly blends her technical expertise with her creative interest to create unique and innovative works of art. From constructing intricate wooden sculptures to designing and building custom electronics. Nicole’s works are a fusion of form and function that captivate and inspire. Her love for music and art can be seen in her intricate sound installations and interactive pieces, which invite the audience to participate in the creation of the artwork.