Ben Luke
Ben Luke is a contributing editor and podcast host at The Art Newspaper
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
The Week in Art podcast | Just Stop Oil’s latest protests, Tavares Strachan, Louise Bourgeois at the Galleria Borghese
Is the climate activist group’s campaign proving a success? Plus, Bahamian-born, US-based Strachan on his new Hayward show and a close look at a hanging bronze by Bourgeois
Podcast | A brush with… Igshaan Adams
An in-depth interview with the artist on his cultural experiences and greatest influences, from Louise Bourgeois’s art to the love poems of Rumi
The Week in Art podcast | Art Basel: fireworks and nuance, Lynn Barber on her artist interviews, Guillaume Lethière at the Clark
We find out what this year's fair says about the state of the art market. Plus, the veteran journalist Lynn Barber tells us about her encounters with artists and we discover a forgotten master of Neo-Classical art
Podcast | A brush with... Otobong Nkanga
The Nigerian-born artist 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
Carsten Höller: ‘We have been very successful in eliminating the unpredictable'
The artist is working with an MIT scientist to help Fondation Beyeler visitors learn the art of flying—in their dreams, at least
Remembering Paul Auster, the ground-breaking novelist who fused art and literature
The New Yorker's collaboration with the artist Sophie Calle was just one way in which art was interlaced with his life and work
The Week in Art podcast | Georgia O’Keeffe’s New York, Studio Voltaire at 30, Martha Jungwirth responds to Goya
We discuss O'Keeffe’s deeply personal renderings of Manhattan cityscapes and skyscrapers, plus look back at Studio Voltaire’s achievements and talk to a curator about a bold Jungwirth still life
Podcast | A brush with... Lynn Hershman Leeson
An in-depth interview with the artist on her cultural experiences and greatest influences, from Cézanne to the theatre of Tadeusz Kantor