Ben Luke

Ben Luke is a contributing editor and podcast host at The Art Newspaper

A brush with… Jeffrey Gibson—podcast

Jeffrey Gibson talks to Ben Luke about his influences—from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by Philippa Kelly and David Clack
Sponsored byBloomberg Connects

Comment | Monet might have seen Venice, but his paintings suggest he didn’t feel it

The Impressionist failed to grasp the innate melancholy of the city he described as “too beautiful to be painted”

A brush with… Teresita Fernández—podcast

Teresita Fernández talks to Ben Luke about her influences—from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped her life and work

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by Philippa Kelly and David Clack
Sponsored byBloomberg Connects

A brush with… Jane and Louise Wilson—podcast

Jane and Louise Wilson talk to Ben Luke about their influences—from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped their lives and work

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by Philippa Kelly and David Clack
Sponsored byBloomberg Connects
A brush withinterview

A brush with... Natalie Kane, curator of digital design, Victoria and Albert Museum

The curator’s cultural life—from James Turrell’s comfortable immersive orbs to Laura Carreira’s film On Falling

Dancenews

‘You’re so close you can see how their toes grip the floor’: Wayne McGregor on his radical new immersive dance experience

The work, which is travelling to London’s Somerset House in October, comprises a panoramic installation featuring a 12k LED, 26-million-pixel screen

A brush with… Tai Shani—podcast

Tai Shani talks to Ben Luke about her influences—from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped her life and work

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by Philippa Kelly and David Clack
Sponsored byBloomberg Connects

As an Emily Kam Kngwarray survey opens at Tate Modern this week, contemporary Indigenous artists are finally taking centre stage in the UK

Other landmark shows of First Nation artists this summer include Duane Linklater at Camden Art Centre and Santiago Yahuarcani at the Whitworth

Arthur Jafa and Mark Leckey, Cecilia Alemani on SITE Santa Fe, Trisha Brown and Robert Rauschenberg—podcast

We speak to Jafa and Leckey about their forthcoming London exhibition, ask Alemani about the US-based biennial—whose title this year was inspired by a film by Godfrey Reggio—and zone in on a landmark dance collaboration

A brush with... Hew Locke—podcast

The artist talks to Ben Luke about about his influences and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work—from a tutorial with Paula Rego to Hans Haacke’s German pavilion at the Venice Biennale

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by Philippa Kelly and David Clack
Sponsored byBloomberg Connects

Art Basel, human remains in Dutch museums, Eva Hesse—podcast

We ask The Art Newspaper's art market editor about the mood in Basel, discuss the Dutch museum tackling the difficult topic of human remains, and speak to Jo Applin, the co-curator of the Courtauld's newest show

A brush with… Rudolf Stingel — podcast

Rudolf Stingel talks to Ben Luke about his influences—from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by David Clack
Sponsored byBloomberg Connects

Katharina Grosse: ‘Imagination doesn’t have a scale’

The artist discusses the trajectory of her practice and her vast, unmissable commission for Art Basel, which covers the entire Messeplatz

Rachel Jones, Liverpool Biennial, UK Aids Memorial Quilt at Tate Modern —podcast

We speak to painter Rachel Jones about her show at Dulwich Picture Gallery, to The Art Newspaper’s contemporary art correspondent about the Liverpool Biennial and to Charlie Porter about the Tate's latest installation

A brush with… Lubaina Himid — podcast

Lubaina Himid talks to Ben Luke about her influences—from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped her life and work

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by David Clack
Sponsored byBloomberg Connects

London Gallery Weekend, Brazil’s National Museum, Jane Austen at the Morgan—podcast

We discuss how London Gallery Weekend can impact the market and how Brazil's National Museum plans to rise from the ashes, plus a look at a 19th century miniature portrait of Jane Austen

A brush with… Huma Bhabha — podcast

Ben Luke talks to Huma Bhabha about her influences—from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped her life and work

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by David Clack
Sponsored byBloomberg Connects

London Gallery Weekend 2025: our critics pick their top shows

From a stolen portrait of Francis Bacon to encromancy, here's our selection of outstanding shows to see in the UK capital

Museum openings: V&A East Storehouse and the Met’s Rockefeller Wing, plus Rachel Whiteread at Goodwood Art Foundation—podcast

We take a tour of the soon-to-open V&A East Storehouse in London and the Met's newly revamped Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, plus a discussion of Rachel Whiteread's show at Sussex's Goodwood Art Foundation

Jean Tinguely’s 100th anniversary, migration museum opens in Rotterdam, Ben Shahn's social security mural—podcast

Exploring the host of exhibitions and events that celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jean Tinguely, plus a look at the newly opened Fenix museum with its director, and a discussion of Ben Shahn's 1941 study, ‘Harvesting Wheat’

A brush withinterview

A brush with Cecilia Alemani

The chief curator of New York's High Line Art and the curator of SITE Sante Fe International on her cultural influences

Comment | Are museums ‘guilt tripping’ their visitors? No, they aren’t doing enough

Engaging with the difficult histories behind objects has deepened, not dampened, my experiences at cultural institutions—and the fact it is different for everyone is a good thing

Koyo Kouoh remembered, Queen Elizabeth II memorial, Jasper Johns by Robert Storr—podcast

Remembering Koyo Kouoh, the Venice Biennale curator who died earlier this month, plus a look at the five designs competing for the late-Queen's memorial commission, and a discussion with curator Robert Storr about the work of Jasper Johns

Refurb and rehang at London's National Gallery, Tate Modern turns 25 and Inge Mahn's ‘Balancing Towers’—podcast

Exploring an exhibition in an island castle, plus a tour of the newly remodelled National Gallery with director Gabriele Finaldi, and expert reflections on Tate Modern's first, seismic quarter of a century

Opinioncomment

Comment | Muted grey, bloody red, or dark blue—here’s why the colour of museum walls matters more than you might think

As London’s National Gallery launches its “once-in-a-lifetime” rehang, Ben Luke asks: what is the right shade behind the art?

Frank Auerbach’s Berlin homecoming, human remains and museums, Ian Hamilton Finlay’s ‘Republic’—podcast

Exploring Frank Auerbach's first-ever Berlin exhibition, plus Dan Hicks discusses the origins of contemporary debates around colonialism, art, and heritage, and an expert on Ian Hamilton Finlay reflects on the artist's work ahead of a run of centenary exhibitions

Comment | Perhaps artists do have only ‘ten good years’—but they can happen at any time in their career

A true critical consensus about the merits of different stages in an artist's journey is rarely possible

Pope Francis and art, J.M.W. Turner’s 250th birthday, John Singer Sargent’s ‘Madame X’—podcast

Exploring the late pontiff’s deep connection to and impact on visual culture, plus why Turner’s work continues to resonate so strongly today, and the story of Sargent’s most famous painting

A brush with… Salman Toor — podcast

Salman Toor talks to Ben Luke about his influences—from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by David Clack
Sponsored byBloomberg Connects

teamLab in Abu Dhabi, Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader, Vermeer’s final painting?—podcast

The lowdown on the Japanese collective teamLab’s new immersive art space, plus two artists discuss their London show exploring languages and stigma in Deaf and hearing cultures, and a chat about a Vermeer dated with the help of pollution