Ben Luke

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

A brush withinterview

A brush with Sarah McCrory

The director of Goldsmiths CCA talks about her love of the Argentine conceptual artist Graciela Carnevale—and PG Wodehouse

Gee’s Bend quiltmakers, ‘degenerate’ art in Paris, and Mel Bochner remembered—podcast

Exploring the history and potency of the small quiltmaking group from Alabama, plus a new show looks at how the Nazis attacked Modern art and artists in Germany, and we discuss a 1969 work by one of the pioneers of Conceptualism

A brush with… Somaya Critchlow

Critchlow, known for her paintings and drawings of Black women, often nude, discusses the power of David Lynch’s films, the consistent importance to her of Japanese manga, and being “comfortable with feeling uncomfortable”

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

Anselm Kiefer, Hoor al Qasimi on the Sharjah Biennial, a Picasso Blue Period mystery—podcast

Exploring the trailblazing German artist’s early work, Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi on creating a world-class event in her home city and a hidden image at the Courtauld

A brush with… Thomas Ruff — podcast

Thomas Ruff discusses his interest in “the puzzle of photography”, how Piero della Francesca impacted his early works, and how the television show ‘Spitting Image’ proved an unlikely influence

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

Trump tariffs and Zona Maco in Mexico, India Art Fair, and American photography at the Rijksmuseum—podcast

How have recent US executive orders affected the mood on the ground at the leading Mexican fair? Plus a report from India Art Fair as it opens amid state elections, plus a chat about one of the earliest portrait photographs

A brush with… Linder — podcast

In the first episode of 2025, Linder, best known for gritty and glamorous photomontages, discusses the Manchester punk scene of the 1970s, the impact of reading Germaine Greer and the Brontës and using her scalpel as a ‘magic wand’

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

Comment | Art is powerful when allied to community—the late artists Donald Rodney and Noah Davis should remind us of that

The two artists, who are the focus of exhibitions opening in London in February, both died tragically young

Peter Hujar, Gregg Bordowitz and Rotimi Fani-Kayode: art and the Aids struggle— podcast

A special episode on three artists dealing with the crisis in different ways

Artists in Gaza respond to the ceasefire, Cimabue at the Louvre, a Baroque printmaking family—podcast

How can Palestinian artists rebuild after a devastating war? Plus, a discussion about Cimabue’s radical innovations in painting and three works from a family business of printmakers

Los Angeles wildfires, World Monuments Fund’s watch list, a Hokusai drawing manual—podcast

How the most devastating fires in Southern Californian history are affecting artists and art workers, plus chats about the work the WMF is doing to protect world heritage and a new book about Katsushika Hokusai’s methods

The Year Ahead 2025: market predictions, the big shows and openings—podcast

From the reimagined Frick Collection to Emily Kam Kngwarray at Tate Modern

Opinioncomment

Comment | Despite what some critics claim, art today isn’t really too obsessed with ‘social justice’

In viral essays and beyond, those who bemoan the dominance of identity politics in museums often reveal more of their own biases than of the art world's

2024 in review: the biggest stories and the best shows - podcast

From the devastating war in Gaza to art attacks in museums, our editors analyse the year's biggest stories

Comment | The exhibitions I adored this year—and the one I didn’t

2024 highlights from Ben Luke, The Art Newspaper's contributing editor

Carsten Höller, Takashi Murakami, sounds of the US-Mexico border — podcast

Höller discusses his new book of games, Murakami chats AI and the television series Shōgun, and two artists talk about a new sound installation at Dia’s New York City space

A brush with… Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset — podcast

In the first episode of A brush with featuring an artist duo, Elmgreen and Dragset discuss their influences, and the cultural experiences that have shaped their lives and work

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

The Big Review: Matisse | Invitation to the Voyage at the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel ★★★★½

Sprawling survey of the Modernist master, comprising more than 70 works, is a celebration of a remarkable six-decade career

Art Basel Miami Beach, Notre-Dame reopens in Paris, and Parmigianino’s Vision of St Jerome—podcast

Dispatches from the mega fair, a chat with a chief architect behind the rebuilding of Notre-Dame cathedral, and up close with Parmigianino’s Mannerist masterpiece

A brush with… Hank Willis Thomas — podcast

An in-depth interview with the conceptual artist, Roy DeCarava’s photographs, James Baldwin’s writing, and the way he infuses painting into his own work

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

Art and technology shows in London and Los Angeles, a restored 17th-century cosmic atlas—podcast

Curators at Tate and Los Angeles County Museum of Art discuss the ways in which technology has shaped artists’ work, plus a chat about the “mesmerising” Harmonia Macrocosmica

A brush withinterview

A brush with Léon Kruijswijk

The curator of the KW Institute for Contemporary Art, and co-curator of Present Future at Artissima 2024, on his take on art

A brush with… Jeff Wall — podcast

An in-depth interview with photographer Jeff Wall, discussing hallucinations, Franz Kafka and the inspiration he draws from comics

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

The $6.2m banana, Frank Auerbach remembered, Lindokuhle Sobekwa’s photographs of addiction in South Africa—podcast

Exploring this week’s New York auctions, which included Maurizio Cattelan’s now-infamous fruit, plus a tribute to the late German-British artist Auerbach and a chat with Sobekwa about a work from his powerful series, on view at the UK’s Sainsbury Centre

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

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

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