Serge Becker (born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

creative director A creative director (or creative supervisor) is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions ar ...

, nightlife and hospitality

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

, and

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. Hist ...

. He is known for his irreverent approach to design, adventurous programming of venues, and a multicultural audience. Becker is part of a second wave of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...

s, that incorporated nightlife and theatrical elements into their design driven venues. A tightly curated guest list, staff casting, styling, and expert music selection were essential elements to this generation of hospitality operators, in addition to the traditional culinary focus. Becker in particular is known for using vernacular design references and transforming previously “undesirable spaces and locations” with a Cinderella effect. Becker was dubbed a “Cultural Engineer” by

André Balazs André Tomes Balazs (born January 31, 1957) is an American businessman and hotelier. He is president and chief executive officer of André Balazs Properties, a portfolio of hotels across the United States and residences in New York state, especial ...

in the New York Times for his innovative creations and prescient timing.

Biography

Born in Paris in 1961 and raised in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

from age 8. Serge Becker is the son of Ruth Becker, a Swiss Theatre and TV administrator and a Vietnamese Father. He studied graphic design at Kunstgewerbeschule Zürich from 1977-1982. While studying he worked at night as a DJ at popular local clubs. Together with photographer Pietro Mattioli he selected records at one of Zürich’s early punk evenings, documented in the book ''1977''. In the early 80’s he started to book early New York City rap performers like

Kurtis Blow Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record/film producer, b-boy, DJ, public speaker and minister. He is the first commercially successful rapper ...

, Davey D, and Grandmaster DST to help introduce this burgeoning culture to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Inspired by that raw energy, he moved to

in 1982, where he started a 3-year stint as art director at the art nightclub

AREA Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

. This led to a 15 year long creative partnership with

co-founder Eric Goode. Together they designed and operated seminal

clubs and restaurants, directed music videos, and produced art and photography. In 1998 Becker joined

George C. Wolfe George Costello Wolfe (born September 23, 1954) is an American playwright and director of theater and film. He won a Tony Award in 1993 for directing '' Angels in America: Millennium Approaches'' and another Tony Award in 1996 for his direction o ...

, Josh Pickard and Paul Salmon to open

Joe's Pub Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette St ...

The Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

. The same year he started the multi-disciplinary design firm Can Resources with architect Derek Sanders and creative director Lisa Ano (of M & Co.). The office designed multiple commercial and residential projects including the beloved Flower Box Building in the East Village. In 2000 Ano and Becker also launched the critically acclaimed cult magazine ''List'', a publication presenting all content in list format. It was an instant hit but the magazine and Can Resources both fell victim to the

dot-com bubble The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet. Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compo ...

crash and

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

. In 2004 Becker and Sanders joined artists Thomas Sandbichler and Jeff Gompertz to open the multi-media art club Volume in North

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a Neighborhoods in Brooklyn, neighborhood in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant to the s ...

. The short-lived venue was a trailblazer for the coming development of the neighborhood and set a high standard for innovative immersive cultural programming. In 2005 Becker and Sanders opened the Mexican restaurant and bar La Esquina which introduced an authentic

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

style menu in a theatrical speakeasy environment. In 2007 Becker joined Simon Hammerstein and Richard Kimmel to open the

Neo-Burlesque Neo-Burlesque, or New Burlesque, is the revival and updating of the traditional American burlesque performance. Though based on the traditional burlesque art, the new form encompasses a wider range of performance styles; neo-burlesque acts can ra ...

theatre The Box, and in 2008 Becker went back to his roots to open the Swiss Restaurant “Café Select” with his Swiss friends Oliver Stumm and Dominique Clausen of “A touch of Class” DJ and production team. In 2011 Becker connected with his Joe’s Pub partner Paul Salmon, the brothers Binn and Genc Jakupi and Meriem Soliman to open the

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n concept venue Miss Lily’s. In 2012 Becker ventured to London to open Mexican restaurant La Bodega Negra with local restaurateur Will Ricker and entrepreneur Eddie Spencer Churchill. 2016 brought a career change for Becker as he was appointed creative and artistic director of the New York

Museum of Sex The Museum of Sex, also known as MoSex, is a sex museum located at 233 Fifth Avenue at the corner of East 27th Street in Manhattan, New York City. It opened on October 5, 2002. History Founder Daniel Gluck wanted to start a museum dedicated t ...

by owner Dan Gluck. His extensive brief was to help Gluck expand the museum into a full two building, eight gallery institution, broaden the curatorial scope, and build a robust events program. He was also tasked with helping Gluck conceptualize, curate, design, and build “Superfunland”, a cheeky large-scale immersive “journey into the erotic carnival” that opened in late 2019 to massive crowds and positive reviews.

Nightclubs, Restaurants, Hotels

* 1983-1987

Nightclub * 1988 MK Nightclub with Eric Goode, Jennifer Goode,

, Katie Ford,

Aby Rosen Aby or ABY may refer to: Places * Aby, Ivory Coast * Aby Lagoon, a lagoon in Ivory Coast * Abyy or Aby, Sakha Republic, Russia ** Aby Lowland * Aby, Lincolnshire, a village in England, UK * Åby, Norrköping Municipality, Sweden * Åby, Växjö Mu ...

, Michael Fuchs * 1989 BC Nightclub in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

with Eric Goode,

, Bret Witke * 1990 Time Café and Fez with Eric Goode, Josh Pickard,

, Michael Fuchs * 1992 Club USA with Eric Goode for

Peter Gatien Peter Gatien (born August 14, 1952) is a Canadian club owner and party promoter. He is best known as the former owner of several prominent New York City nightclubs, including Club USA, The Limelight, Palladium, and Tunnel. Life and career Gatien ...

* 1992 Tunnel Nightclub with Eric Goode for

* 1992

The Mercer Hotel The Mercer Hotel, located at the corner of Mercer and Prince Streets in SoHo, Manhattan, New York City, was the second acquisition in the luxury collection of André Balazs hotels. It offers 75 guest rooms on six floors of a Romanesque revival bui ...

master plan co-designers for

* 1994 B Bar & Grill with Eric Goode * 1994 Jones

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

for Sean MacPhearson * 1994 Good Luck Bar for Sean MacPhearson * 1998

with Josh Pickard, Paul Salmon, Kevin Abbott; the seminal, intimate

Downtown Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

venue, presenting US premieres of

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...

Antony and the Johnsons Antony and the Johnsons is an American music group presenting the work of Anohni and her collaborators. Career British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Anohni's music through his Durtro label ...

Tinariwen Tinariwen (Tamasheq: , with vowels , pronounced ''tinariwen'' "deserts", plural of ''ténéré'' "desert") is a collective of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. Considered a pioneer of desert blues, the group's guita ...

Šaban Bajramović Šaban Bajramović ( sr-Cyrl, Шабан Бајрамовић, ; rom, Shaban Bajramovičh; 16 April 1936 – 8 June 2008), nicknamed Šabi (Шаби), was a Serbian vocalist and recording artist of Arlije Romani ethnicity. He was one of the mos ...

, among many others. * 2004 Volume Club with Thomas Sandbichler, Jeff Gompertz, Derek Sanders; innovative multi-media culture space responsible for US premieres of

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. Dizze ...

Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Fr ...

N.E.R.D. N.E.R.D. (stylized as N⋆E⋆R⋆D and N.E.R.D, a backronym of No-one Ever Really Dies) is an American hip hop and rock band, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1999. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin Reco ...

, Williamsburg Dodge Ball Tournament. * 2004 Lure Fishbar for John McDonald, Josh Pickard, Josh Capon * 2005 La Esquina Restaurant with Derek Sanders, Ily Hümer, Cordell Lochin, James Gersten * 2007 The Box Cabaret Club with Simon Hammerstein, Richard Kimmel, Randy Weiner * 2008 Café Select with Oliver Stumm, Dominique Clausen * 2011 Miss Lily's Soho with Paul Salmon, Binn Jakupi, Genc Jakupi, Meriem Soliman; innovative

n cultural concept including restaurant, organic juice bar, record store, art gallery, radio station. * 2012 Bodega Negra

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

with Will Ricker, Eddie Spencer Churchill * 2013 Miss Lily's 7A * 2014 Bodega Negra

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

with Noah Teppenberg and Strategic Group * 2015 Miss Lily's

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

with Varun Khemaney, Khalil Damash * 2018 Alley Cat Amateur Theatre at

Beekman Hotel 5 Beekman Street, also known as the Beekman Hotel and Residences, is a building in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. It is composed of the interconnected 10-story, Temple Court Building and Annex (also known as Temple Court ...

with

Tom Colicchio Thomas Patrick Colicchio (; born August 15, 1962) is an American celebrity chef. He co-founded the Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and formerly served as a co-owner and as the executive chef. He is also the founder of Crafted Hospitality, whic ...

* 2018 Miss Lily's

Negril Negril is a small (pop. 6,900) but widely dispersed beach resort and town located in Westmoreland and Hanover parishes at the far western tip of Jamaica, southwest from Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. Westmoreland is the wes ...

at Skylark Hotel for Paul Salmon * 2019 Bodega Negra

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

with Will Ricker * 2019 Indochine

with Jean Marc Houmard, Varun Khemaney, Khalil Damash * 2021 LMNO Philadelphia with Stephen Starr

Museums and Galleries

* 2009 Swiss Institute New York, Design of Sculptural Reading Room * 2013 “AREA: The Exhibition”, Group Show, The Hole Gallery, curated by

Jeffrey Deitch Jeffrey Deitch (pronounced ''DIE-tch'';Mike Boehm (January 12, 2010)L.A.'s MOCA picks art dealer Jeffrey Deitch as director''Los Angeles Times''. born 1952) is an American art dealer and curator. He is best known for his gallery Deitch Projects ( ...

and

Glenn O'Brien Glenn O'Brien (March 2, 1947 – April 7, 2017) was an American writer who focused largely on the subjects of art, music, and fashion. He was featured for many years as "The Style Guy" in ''GQ'' magazine and published a book with that title. He ...

; Production Design * 2016-2020 Creative and Artistic Director

, New York; Overseeing program, design and execution In collaboration with curator Lissa Rivera and founder Dan Gluck

Exhibitions

* 2016 "Night Fever" New York Disco 1977-1979 The Bill Bernstein Photographs * 2016 "Sex Lives of Animals" * 2017 “Known/ Unknown" Private obsession and hidden desire in Outsider Art * 2017 "NSFW - Female Gaze" * 2017 "Canon" Juan Jose Garboza & Gubo Andrew Mroczek * 2017 "Zana Bayne" Stage Costume Anthology * 2017 "Celestial Bodies" the couples Virtual Reality experience with

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is the co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer, a member of the supergroup LSD with ...

* 2018 "The Incomplete Araki" Life and death in the work of

Nobuyoshi Araki is a Japanese photographer and contemporary artist professionally known by the mononym . Known primarily for photography that blends eroticism and bondage in a fine art context, he has published over 500 books.The number depends on such things ...

* 2018 "Leonor Fini" Theatre of Desire 1930-1990 * 2018 "Punk Lust" Raw provocation 1971-1985 * 2019 "Stag" the illicit origins of pornographic film * 2019 "Mariette Pathy Allen" Rites of Passage 1978-2006 * 2019 "James Bidgood" Reveries * 2019 "Superfunland" Journey into the Erotic Carnival

Publications

* 2000 ''List Magazine'' an anthology of lists with co-editor Lisa Ano

Art Direction and Production Design

* 1992 "I’m a frayed knot" ( Gary Indiana) Rivington Theatre; Production design * 1993 "Dido and Aneas" Opera at the Academy; Production design * 2002 "60 Years Capitol Records" campaign; Creative direction

Music Videos and Film Direction

* 1992

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

"Help me I’m in Hell" * 1992

" Pinion" * 1993

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

"Alternative Nation" title sequence * 1993

Digital Orgasm Lords of Acid is a Belgian/American electronic dance music (EDM) group led by musician Praga Khan. They are best known for making songs with sexual lyrics and sexually explicit tracks, such as their hit "Pussy". History Lords of Acid debut ...

"Time to Believe" * 1994

CeCe Peniston Cecilia Veronica "CeCe" Peniston (; born September 6, 1969) is an American singer and former beauty queen. In the early 1990s, she scored five number one hits on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play. Her signature song "Finally" rea ...

"Hit by Love" * 1994 Messiah "I feel Love" * 1994

Terrorvision ''TerrorVision'' is a 1986 American science fiction horror comedy film directed by Ted Nicolaou, produced and written by Albert and Charles Band and composed by Richard Band, all of whom would go on to found and work with Full Moon Features in ...

" Oblivion" * 1998

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel in ...

"Unbound" * 2019 "The Origins of the Fair" - A Panoramic History with Lissa Rivera

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Serge Living people American restaurateurs French restaurateurs 1961 births