A brush with... Sarah Sze

A brush with... Sarah Sze

Author: The Art Newspaper September 29, 2021 Duration: 58:45
Sarah Sze talks to Ben Luke about ​​the art, literature, music and film that have influenced her and continue to inspire her today, and the cultural experiences that have shaped her life and work. Sze, who was born in 1969 in Boston and studied at Yale University and the School of Visual Arts, New York, takes objects and images and gathers them into intricate, uncanny assemblages which often envelop and overwhelm the viewer. Her works are often categorised as sculptural installations but exist on the boundary between many different disciplines, with painting, printmaking, drawing and video alongside found and made sculptural elements. A first encounter with Sze’s work is never forgotten: she has an extraordinary knack of making her works directly embody a gallery space, seeming to grow from it and extend into it in surprising, even magical ways. In the podcast she talks about the remarkable sense of scale, light and space in Vermeer, about the prints of Hokusai, Emily Dickinson’s preoccupation with death, the profound effect of seeing Chris Marker’s La Jetée and her transformative experiences of historic Indian architecture. And, of course, she answers our regular questions about what images she has around her in the studio, the rituals of her working life, and what, ultimately, art is for. This episode is sponsored by Bloomberg Connects.

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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…