Serena Becker’s Advice to Young Artists? Get Bored.
The artist on her career, why she believes everyone needs to slow down, and more.
Many things are passed down from parent to child, and for artist Serena Becker, an artistic sensibility was hereditary. With two artist parents, Becker was encouraged to indulge her imaginative inclinations and express herself creatively through painting. Today, Becker’s artistic playground has expanded beyond the blank canvas and now includes photography, video, mixed media, and sculpture, among others. For Becker, whose art can be characterized by rich color combinations and a hint of whimsy, the most interesting expressions of creativity are those that transcend reality.
Ahead, we talk to Becker about her childhood in Italy, her approach to her work, and why she believes everyone needs to slow down.
Were you interested in art and photography as a child? How did you come to it?
"Yes, I was. My mom is a painter, and my dad–he is a bit of everything–but he can draw really well. They’re both artists, and my sister works in fashion. I was brought up with a lot of creativity, and a sense of doing things a little bit differently.
I grew up with my mom in a small town, and she encouraged [making art] a lot. When I was little, she would give me a canvas and paints. If I was bored, angry, whatever, she would tell me to paint. It was a nice outlet, especially as a teenager."
Are there any artists that you loved when you were younger who influenced your taste?
"I think so many things influence your taste—who your friends are, what they're listening to, what you listen to, what you watch, etc. And then, when you grow up, what you watch, which galleries you go to.
"I wouldn't pick just one thing or person, but when I was younger, I was more into abstract art for sure. My mom is an abstract painter. I loved Rothko because she loved Rothko. And I loved Pollock as well. I love Van Gogh; I didn't like him when I was little. I have been loving surrealism lately, something I didn’t love at all when I was younger.
"I also love the classics. I have trouble with more contemporary art. Maybe I just don’t understand it, but a lot of people don’t invest enough time into their craft. We’re rushed to complete the day. We’re rushed to have a career. I feel like nowadays, we are all a little bit rushed, and social media makes everything feel so quick. The content needs to be short and direct. In the last few years, especially after COVID, I realized how I rushed through my life.
"In Italy, you have many old cities, and you’ll be walking down the street and see a wooden door. It’s handmade, it’s beautiful, and you think. ‘How long did it take to make one door?’ Everything is time. Love is time, isn't it? It's how much you invest in something at the end. For good things, you need time."
When you realized that you had been rushing through everything, how did that change your approach to your work?
"It changed my approach to my life and also my work. I produced less, and I started painting again. I think it had the biggest impact on how I feel, what choices I make, and how I interact with my work and with people. It's slower. I take time for myself a lot more. I prefer to be in the countryside than in the city. I listen to jazz, which I never did before."
How did you discover what you were drawn to in terms of art and music?
"In London, it’s like New York where you feel so inspired by the people around you. People watching at cafes, going to free gigs to watch bands play—the people I met actually inspired me the most, because that's how you get to know other things–it’s so easy to be in your own bubble. I think what shaped me the most was traveling, moving, meeting new people, and seeing new things."
I find your use of color and light in your photographs really interesting. What pulls you toward that kind of expression?
"I like color, I love people, and I love being close to people, and I think all three of those things can be seen within my work. I also don't love when things are too real, I guess. I love to create something that’s a bit more fantasy-like."
Do you have an artistic process?
"Yes and no. For personal work, sometimes there is no process. Sometimes, you see something and you think, ‘Oh, that's a nice shape.’ Then you take the camera, set up something quickly, and you shoot it. That's nice when you just want to know how the outcome is because you’re curious. But, I guess the process is always putting music on and getting the ingredients to set up the shot."
When you're going through a period of feeling uninspired, how do you reignite that creativity?
"Oh, there are big patches of that. You always have periods where you produce more, and you have periods where you produce less. I think everybody has their own flow. I love going to a gallery to see a show and see if that sparks anything. I find myself always rewatching movies from the '90s and the '80s for some reason. I don't know if it exists in America, but I love Nuovo Cinema Paradiso. It's a classic, beautiful, old movie. I love Good Will Hunting, and rom-coms. I still remember the first time I saw The Silence of the Lambs."
Do you have any advice for young artists?
"Last year, I realized I was spending so much time on Instagram. I was scrolling for no reason, whenever I had a spare moment. And it’s usually not information you’re searching for, it’s given to you. It’s easy to get caught up in what other people like. I think that social media and the internet prevent us from getting bored and discovering our own taste, what we’re innately drawn toward. And I think getting bored is a good thing for creativity. So for the younger generation, that’s my advice: You need to get bored."
The collected works of Serena Becker are represented by Trunk Archive.