Ben Luke talks to the British artist Helen Marten about her influences—including those from the worlds of literature, music, and, of course, art—and the cultural experiences that have shaped her life and work.
Installation view of Helen Marten's Third Moment Profile I The Almost Horse, Sadie Coles HQ, London, 14 September - 29 October 2022
© Helen Marten, courtesy Sadie Coles HQ, London. Photo: Eva Herzog
Marten works in sculpture, text and screen-printed paintings and has created a complex language of forms with a remarkable breadth of materials. Her works entice us to make associations and draw meanings, while remaining richly ambiguous. She discusses her early interest in Joan Miró and Robert Rauschenberg, her enduring passion for the art of Martin Kippenberger and Charline von Heyl, and her absorption in the writing of Roland Barthes as well as Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari.
Plus, she reflects on life in the studio and answers our usual questions, including the ultimate one: what is art for?
Helen Marten's Untitled (2021)
© Helen Marten, courtesy of Greene Naftali, New York. Photo: Robert Glowacki
• Helen is co-curator and exhibition designer for Hervé Télémaque: A Hopscotch of the Mind, Aspen Art Museum, Colorado, US, until 26 March 2023.
Series 13 of A brush with… runs from 23 November-14 December, with episodes released on Wednesdays. You can download and subscribe to the podcast here. This podcast is sponsored by Bloomberg Connects.