Interview with Ashley Noyes and Bryce Smith

Ashley and Bryce have been passionate about emerging artists for as long as I’ve known them. When I first met them out front of Sothebys on York and 72nd in 2019, it wasn’t the most recent Marden, Rothko, or De Kooning auction prices that they were talking about— they wanted to know if I was free to go gallery hopping in LES, Tribeca, Williamsburg, and if I was available that weekend to go upstate to check out The School and Magazino.

Few Saturday mornings have passed since then without me waking up to a text from one or both of them asking if I’ll be ready before the weekenders overrun the latest thing they want to show me. Their first visit to Mexico City in 2020 prompted a constant stream of messages exclaiming how inspired they were by the thriving creative atmosphere. When they told me they were leaving their secure art-world positions to go all-in on a residency and gallery program in Santa Maria la Ribera, I wasn’t the least bit surprised.