In September of 2006, I began a conversation with artist Joseph Raffael that was to become what I can only describe as an experience, and certainly one of the best that I’ve had as an editor at the magazine.  It began simply enough—we talked about art and we talked about the artist's life and we talked about his big beautiful paintings and the big beautiful worlds happening inside them—but those early conversations were to become the root of one of the most meaningful features in the magazine, one that has reverberated in ways not even I could have expected.

Our June 2007 issue created a stir among our readers, many of whom wrote to us—and Raffael—of their admiration for his work.  They told us how inspired they felt and they sent us the paintings to prove it.  They said they wanted to see more, hear more, and be there when it happened.  And we promised to deliver:

With our first video exclusive, we take you inside the world of those big beautiful paintings. Join us on a guided tour of the most recent exhibition of Raffael’s work at the Nancy Hoffman Gallery in New York City: Curator/gallery owner Nancy Hoffman offers special insight into the show she describes as “a window to new artistic terrain” and the artist opens his journals to reveal the painting process that brought the work on display into fruition. Click here to enter.