What is this ?
Welcome to Asheville Artists, a low-fi, DIY podcast where I, Zap Vega — or X. A. Graham, or the Masked Tiger, or Lightning Biscuit, or whatever name I’m going by today — sit down with the incredible creative minds who make Asheville, North Carolina such a vibrant and wild place to live and work.
As an artist myself, I started this project to connect more deeply with the local scene, and each episode features conversations with painters, sculptors, woodworkers, street artists, and more — sometimes old friends, sometimes new discoveries.
Before each interview, I’ll share a personal take on the artist’s work — how it hits me, what stands out — just one artist's outsider perspective on another's craft. It’s all about real conversations, in real places, with the people shaping Asheville’s creative pulse.
Who am I ?
I’m Zap Vega, an artist working in Asheville. My work probes the complexities and dynamics of modern life—revealing how creation can both unite and fragment.
Rooted in Pop‑Art Absurdism and Outsider Art aesthetics, my visual‑textual pieces weave the absurd and the serious, drawing from a wide spectrum of references—from classical literature and philosophy to pop culture, identity, and media saturation. Widely exhibited—from the Tampa Museum of Art and the MET to guerrilla pop‑ups in coffee‑shop bathrooms— I currently maintains studios in Asheville, St. Petersburg, FL and New York City.
My Asheville studio can be found at RAD Rendezvous in the River Arts District.
