A brush with... Nari Ward

A brush with... Nari Ward

Author: The Art Newspaper April 13, 2022 Duration: 54:17
Nari Ward talks to Ben Luke about his influences—including literature, music and, of course, art—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work. Ward often uses found materials, from baby strollers to baseball bats and shoelaces, and repurposes them in sculptures, wall-based text works and installations. They address present and historical social and political issues, including race and poverty, and deal directly with emotions like loss and hope. Ward was born in 1963 in St Andrew, Jamaica, and moved with his family to the US when he was 12. He now lives and works in New York, and specifically Harlem, which has been much more than the location of his home and studio—often providing the raw materials and the thematic basis of his art. The late curator Okwui Enwezor said of Ward that he had “completely transformed the scale and the ambition of installation art”. He discusses his early interest in the Brothers Hildebrandt, his direct references to Piero Manzoni and Joseph Beuys and his use of Claude McKay’s poetry and The Staple Singers’ lyrics. Plus, he answers the questions we ask all our guests, including the ultimate: what is art for?

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Ever wondered what really makes an artist tick? A brush with... from The Art Newspaper goes beyond the finished work to explore the daily rhythms and deep inspirations that fuel the creative process. Each episode is a quiet, focused conversation between host Ben Luke and a leading international artist, structured around a set of deceptively simple questions. You’ll hear them discuss the historical and contemporary figures they look to, the museums they find themselves drawn back to repeatedly, and the books, music, and films that shape their thinking. Crucially, Luke invites them to describe the mundane magic of the studio-what actually happens there day to day. This approach reveals the person behind the practice in a way that feels intimate and genuine. Sponsored by Bloomberg Connects, the podcast builds a rich portrait of artistic life, one thoughtful dialogue at a time. It’s for anyone curious about the web of influences and habits that culminate in a piece of art, offering a rare glimpse into the minds that shape our visual culture. Tune in for conversations that are less about interrogation and more about discovery, where the answers often surprise even the artists themselves.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 135

A brush with...
Podcast Episodes
A brush with… Huma Bhabha [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:25
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. Bhabha was born in 1962 in Karachi,…
A brush with... Salman Toor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:34
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. Toor was born in Lahore, Pakistan,…
A brush with... Kent Monkman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:33
Kent Monkman 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. Monkman was born in 1965 in St Mar…
A brush with... Ed Atkins [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:59
Ed Atkins 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. Atkins, born in Oxford, UK, in 1982,…
A brush with... Celia Paul [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:25
In this first episode of the new series of A brush with…, Ben Luke talks to the painter Celia Paul about her influences—including writers as well as contemporary and historic artists—and the cultural experiences that hav…
A brush with… Renée Green [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:03
Renée Green 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.Green was born in 1959, in Cleveland…
A brush with... Somaya Critchlow [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:02
Somaya Critchlow 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. Critchlow, born in London in 1…
A brush with... Thomas Ruff [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:03
Thomas Ruff 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.Ruff was born in 1958 in Zell am Har…
A brush with... Linder [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:27
The first episode of 2025 of A brush with… features a conversation with Linder, who discusses her influences—from writers to musicians and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped her life…
A brush with… Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:55
Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset 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. This is…