#88: Nasir Young — Decoding the Visual Language of Urban Spaces

#88: Nasir Young — Decoding the Visual Language of Urban Spaces

From Always Choose Orange by Alex Accornero

January 28, 2026 · 1h 9m

About this episode

In this episode, Alex Accornero interviews visual artist Nasir Young about his artistic perspective shaped by skateboarding and urban life.

What does it take to see the world around you the way an artist sees it? In this episode of Always Choose Orange , I chat with visual artist Nasir Young about how skateboarding transformed the way he moves through cityscapes and how that way of seeing laid the groundwork for his detailed oil paintings. His work documents the small, often overlooked wonders of urban life, including brick walls, corner stores, and gas stations. We talk about: Always having a handful of projects to work on How to tell intriguing visual stories without including a single person Titling your work to evoke curiosity and meaning Studio routines (including scheduling time to read manga) Oh, and by the end of the episode, don’t be surprised if you never look at vans the same way again. Website: http://www.nasiryoungart.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nasiryoungart/

People in this episode

Host: Alex Accornero

Guest: Nasir Young

Topics covered

  • visual art
  • urban life
  • skateboarding
  • storytelling
  • oil painting techniques

Keywords

  • Nasir Young
  • urban art
  • skateboarding
  • oil paintings
  • visual storytelling

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Always Choose Orange

Products: vans

Books & works: oil paintings

Places: brick walls, urban spaces, cityscapes, corner stores, gas stations

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