with Royal Brown

Art Town is a podcast based in upstate New York, hosted by artist and educator Justin Baker. Each month, Baker engages in thoughtful conversations with regional artists and artisans, exploring their work, creative processes, and the lives they lead. In this episode, I’m joined by Marisa Espe, from the Albany Institute of History and Art, as we sit down with Royal Brown—artist, mystic, veteran, and clinical social worker—to explore the spiritual and symbolic roots of his work. Royal’s art merges Yoruba mysticism, quantum physics, aircraft mechanics, and esoteric alphabets into a singular visual language that feels both ancient and futuristic. We talk about how he builds sculptural “interdimensional vehicles” from found objects, channels ancestral energy through abstract painting, and approaches art as a tool for transformation and healing. Royal’s work is currently on view at the Albany Institute of History and Art in For Liberation and For Life: The Legacy of Black Dimensions in Art, on view through December 31. Insightful, intelligent, and grounded in the art world’s evolving narrative, Art Town is where regional voices find resonance. To see more of Royal’s work: follow him on Instagram: @royalbrown2630 Theme music by Phantogram Interlude sound: Japanese Bell End credits by The Art Town Players