Ben Luke

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

A brush with… eight artists tell us about the books and poems that inspire their work

Artists including Rachel Whiteread, Ragnar Kjartansson and Roni Horn share texts ranging from 19th-century poetry to postmodern fiction on The Art Newspaper’s podcast

Exhibitionsinterview

Mary Heilmann: My work follows 'no linear time. It's all a chunk'

As her Hauser & Wirth exhibition launches online, the 81-year-old artist tells us about her early influences, being taught by David Hockney, and why pink is punk

Podcastspodcast

The fight against Putin: artists on the frontline

Plus, India reconstructs its history and Navid Nuur on Walter de Maria

A brush with... Tala Madani

An in-depth podcast conversation on the artist's big influences, from Francis Bacon to Miles Davis

A brush with... Charles Gaines

An in-depth podcast conversation on the artist's big influences, from Frantz Fanon to John Coltrane

Podcastspodcast

What will Biden-Harris do for the visual arts?

Plus, QAnon's origins in Italian conceptual art and Alphonse Mucha's Slav Epic

Monumentscomment

Tearing down troubling statues is not lying about our history—it is removing impediments to truth

The UK communities secretary Robert Jenrick's plans to prevent the removal of controversial monuments reveals his inability to view the past as shifting and complex

A brush with... Tal R

An in-depth podcast conversation on the artist's big influences, from W. G. Sebald to Georges Rouault

A brush withinterview

Beryl Cook, queer history and Dolly Parton: gallery director Joe Scotland on his cultural influences

The head of non-profit space Studio Voltaire in London tells us about his favourite books, television shows and artists

Podcastspodcast

The white supremacist art at the heart of the US Capitol

Plus, a $2.2m Batman comic and the artists inspired by political theorist Hannah Arendt

A brush with... Tracey Rose

An in-depth podcast conversation on the artist's big influences, from Duchamp to Deep House

Covid-19comment

As 2021 beckons.... I crave new art in the new year more than ever

With talk of vaccines dominating the airwaves, a return to regular contact with the latest works and upcoming artists may be on the horizon

We asked artists to send an image that summed up their 2020 experiences—here's what we received

From coronavirus and lockdowns to US politics, this is a collection of postcards from "a year on the edge"

The top five YouTube channels for an art fix this Christmas season

While many museums across the globe remain closed, you can still get through the virtual doors via video—from artist interviews to archival gems

A brush with... Rachel Whiteread

An in-depth podcast conversation on the artist's big influences, from Bruce Nauman to George Orwell

Art could have dwindled into insignificance in the upheaval of this year—instead it endured

Through the major shifts and moments of victory, art has proved itself to be cathartic, resistant and powerful

Podcastspodcast

2020: the year in review

The Art Newspaper team picks apart this year's biggest art stories, from the art market heading online to the fight for racial justice

Hosted by Ben Luke. with guest speakers Anna Brady, Louisa Buck and Gareth Harris. Produced by Julia Michalska, David Clack and Aimee Dawson

A brush with... Roni Horn

An in-depth podcast conversation on the artist's big influences, from Icelandic glaciers to Emily Dickinson

Podcastspodcast

Brexit: how will it change the art market?

Plus, Neville Wakefield on John McCracken's planks

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by Julia Michalska, David Clack and Aimee Dawson

A brush with... Christina Quarles

An in-depth podcast conversation on the artist's big influences, from epic musicals to James Baldwin

Podcastspodcast

Contemporary public art: who is it for?

Plus, Tom Sachs on Mondrian's Broadway Boogie-Woogie

A brush with... Ragnar Kjartansson

An in-depth podcast conversation on the artist's big influences, from Elizabeth Peyton to Cardi B

Podcastspodcast

Is the future of museums in Africa?

We speak to museum experts András Szántó and Sonia Lawson. Plus, Dan Hicks on the legacy of colonial looting and National Gallery curator Christopher Riopelle on the Polish painter Jan Matejko

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by Julia Michalska, David Clack and Aimee Dawson
Podcastspodcast

Revisiting the Thanksgiving myth: the Mayflower and the Wampanoag, 400 years on

Plus, artist Chantal Joffe on a poignant painting by Paula Modersohn-Becker

Podcastspodcast

Where art fairs still happen: the Shanghai buzz

Plus, Chila Kumari Singh Burman and the art work that inspired that Biden-Harris video

Hosted by Ben Luke and Margaret Carrigan. with guest speakers Lisa Movius and Louisa Buck. Produced by Julia Michalska, David Clack and Aimee Dawson

Missing out on Artemisia Gentileschi because of lockdown? Here's a video tour of the National Gallery exhibition

As coronavirus forces English museums to close, take a virtual guided trip around the much-anticipated show of the female Old Master with this video and podcast

Hosted by Ben Luke. Filmed and produced by David Clack

Philip Guston show: 2022 opening is welcome news but confusion still remains

The museums should make urgent use of the delay already caused by the pandemic rather than lurch towards lengthy postponement

Podcastspodcast

US election: How Trump’s presidency has affected the arts

Plus, artist Pedro Reyes on his New York project; cartoonist Martin Rowson on Hogarth

Digital Ageanalysis

The Art Newspaper at 30: how has art criticism changed in the digital age?

Through blogs, websites and social media, there is more writing than ever on the arts. But whether it adds meaningful insight, or just noise, is a matter of debate

Ben Luke. with additional reporting by Gareth Harris