Ben Luke
Ben Luke is a contributing editor and podcast host at The Art Newspaper
A brush with… Goshka Macuga — podcast
An in-depth interview with Turner nominee Goshka Macuga, discussing her influences from Eileen Agar to Stanisław Lem—and how she came to dance in her studio
Episode 300! British Museum, Tate Modern and V&A East directors in discussion
A special roundtable conversation touching on some of the biggest issues facing museums: from the need to address colonial histories to sponsorship and AI
Comment | The Barbican’s survey of Indian art avoids the pitfalls that plague so many political shows
This exhibition successfully traverses the terrain of art and geopolitics—an area often littered with clunkiness and earnest failure
Renaissance special: Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael in Florence, drawings and tapestries—podcast
A deep dive into two London shows bringing together key works of the movement, and a spectacular series of tapestries depicting the Battle of Pavia on view in San Francisco
American sculpture: race and racism, Warsaw’s Museum of Modern Art, Jusepe de Ribera in Paris — podcast
A chat about a Washington show offering a radical new perspective on the history of sculpture, plus how the major Polish museum has journeyed through political change towards opening, and a discussion of Ribera’s “most moving” work
US election, the glory of Siena, Gabrielle Goliath — podcast
What is at stake for the US cultural sector as the nation chooses its next president? Plus, a tour of 14th-century Sienese masterpieces and a conversation with Goliath about her ongoing video series Mango Blossoms
Comment | I thought I knew Stevie Wonder’s music until Arthur Jafa showed it in a new light
American artist Jafa's recent video work recontextualises Wonder's song 'As' as well as the film 'Taxi Driver'
Art Basel at the Grand Palais, Guillermo Kuitca at Musée Picasso and Małgorzata Mirga-Tas at Tate St Ives — podcast
We find out what happened when the art world descended on Paris for Art Basel, speak to Guillermo Kuitca about his new work for Musée Picasso and hear from Małgorzata Mirga-Tas about June, her work soon to go on display at Tate St Ives
In pictures: Frieze Focus thinks global
Our pick of the highlights from the fair's section for emerging galleries
Frieze, UK critics The White Pube, Giuseppe Penone and Arte Povera — podcast
We find out how the London fair went this year, speak to Gabrielle de la Puente and Zarina Muhammad about their new book and to Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev about her new show at the Bourse de Commerce in Paris
Nairy Baghramian: ‘Dissent is part of society, it is a healthy freedom’
The Iranian-born, Berlin-based artist discusses the beauty that lies in “in-between spaces”, and the relationship between art and democracy
A brush with…Sonia Boyce — podcast
An in-depth interview with the Golden Lion-winner, discussing her shift to social practice, the influence of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, and how William Morris’s wallpaper designs have made their way into her work
Mike Kelley, a pivotal period of contemporary Indian art, Raoul Dufy and Berthe Weill — podcast
Celebrating the “negative joy” of the American artist Kelley in a new Tate retrospective, a period of change in India explored at the Barbican, and a conversation about a work once owned by the pioneering woman gallerist Berthe Weill
Podcast | Episode 100: A brush with… Marlene Dumas
An in-depth interview with the endlessly daring Dumas, discussing her admiration for Nicole Eisenman and Diane Arbus, and the impact of Francisco Goya on her practice
Monet in London, Matisse in Basel, Frankenthaler in Florence — podcast
A chat with the curator of a new show featuring Monet's Thames views—in the very room where many were painted, plus trips to Basel and Florence for 'Matisse: Invitation to the Voyage' and 'Helen Frankenthaler: Painting without Rules'
A brush with... Gemma Peppé, founder of Art on a Postcard
“If you don’t create art yourself, you can borrow from artists to express how you feel, how you see the world and what’s important to you.”
Podcast | A brush with… Robert Longo
An in-depth interview with "collision" artist Robert Longo, who explains the process behind his responses to works by everyone from Jackson Pollock to Rembrandt
Glenn Ligon in Cambridge, new Gauguin biography, Teresa Margolles’s Fourth Plinth commission — podcast
The American artist on his interventions at the Fitzwilliam Museum, a chat about a new publication exploring Gauguin’s complex character, and the details on a new London sculpture paying tribute to trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming communities
Podcast | A brush with… Rana Begum
An in-depth interview with sculptor and painter Rana Begum, exploring her experiences with the Qur’an, J.M.W. Turner and negotiating the London cityscape
Why writing off the Mona Lisa would serve the Louvre better than worshipping it
The Paris museum should forget about the hugely costly move of the Leonardo painting and focus instead on the myriad other masterpieces in its collection
Van Gogh blockbuster, the birth of Impressionism, Juan Pablo Echeverri — podcast
A tour of the National Gallery’s landmark exhibition with our Van Gogh expert Martin Bailey, plus a new book zoning in on the Impressionists’ “Terrible Year” and a highlight from Museum Folkwang’s hair-themed show
The art market slump, the artist freed in the US-Russia prisoner swap, Max Ernst in Paris — podcast
What’s behind the troubles facing auction houses and galleries? Plus, Sasha Skochilenko recounts her experience of being arrested—and incarcerated—in Russia, and the story behind a 1937 Surrealist painting by Ernst
Podcast | A brush with… Arthur Jafa
An in-depth interview with the filmmaker and sculptor, discussing his eye for systemic and historic inequity, and how Anne Imhof and Mahalia Jackson have influenced his practice
Podcast | A brush with… Eva Rothschild
An in-depth interview with the sculptor, exploring the 'material giddiness' of making work—and the profound effect of Sinead O’Connor
Podcast | A brush with… Michael Craig-Martin
An in-depth interview with the artist spanning his 50-year career, exploring his influences, use of humour, and how he succeeds in making the humdrum so compelling
Podcast | A brush with… Charline von Heyl
An in-depth interview with the artist, exploring her description-defying work and her ability to keep us all guessing
A brush with… Lois Stonock, the director of Metroland Cultures, London
The arts charity director tells us about her cultural influences, from Lucian Freud to the British-Pakistani writer and artist Rasheed Araeen
The Big Review: Michelangelo: the Last Decades at the British Museum, London ★★★☆☆
In the absence of large-scale works, the London show focuses instead on the objects that reveal the artist’s deepening spirituality
The Week in Art podcast | Arts and the UK election, ex-Uffizi head fails in Florence mayoral bid, Hank Willis Thomas at Glastonbury
What a change in government might mean for the UK culture sector, a close look at Eike Schmidt’s unsuccessful campaign, and Willis Thomas discusses displaying his new afro pick sculpture at the world’s biggest music festival
'A little masterpiece': Titian's youthful canvas of 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt', goes for auction at Christie's
The Venetian master's exquisite early depiction of the Holy Family, once recovered in a bag at a bus-stop seven years after being stolen from Longleat House, is estimated to fetch £15m-£25m in London sale