SPENT: Episode Two | Walter Price

SPENT: Episode Two | Walter PriceWalter Price’s paintings may present as loose, instinctive, and immediate, but behind them is a practice built on discipline, repetition, and consistency. In this conversation, Walter sits down with Ajay Kurian to talk about building a life around making work and what it means to remain committed to the process. Together they discuss ambition, routine, competition, and the challenge of continuing to evolve without becoming attached to outcomes.Walter reflects on making small paintings when everyone told him to scale up, embracing experimentation over certainty, and treating limitations as opportunities rather than obstacles. Again and again, he returns to the same idea: growth comes from pushing toward discomfort instead of away from it.Walter describes creativity as something active - a practice of showing up, staying curious, and refusing to get comfortable.At one point, Walter says he doesn’t want the cheers. He wants the boos.Not because he’s interested in proving people wrong, but because he understands what keeps him moving: there is always another level to reach.Hosted by Ajay KurianEdited by Peter GroppeProduced by NewCrits More about Walter Price:https://www.davidzwirner.com/artists/walter-price00:00 — Intro04:15 — Growing Up08:40 — Early Ideas About Becoming an Artist13:25 — Consistency vs Inspiration18:50 — Small Paintings and Ignoring Expectations24:30 — Wanting the Boos, Not the Cheers29:15 — Ambition, Restlessness, and Staying Hungry34:10 — Experimentation as Practice39:20 — Developing Taste and Trusting Instinct44:45 — Limitations as Opportunity49:30 — Growth Through Discomfort55:10 — Routine, Repetition, and Showing Up1:00:45 — Success, Satisfaction, and What Comes Next1:06:20 — Curiosity as a Long-Term Practice1:10:00 — Outro Get full access to NewCrits Substack at newcrits.substack.com/subscribe