What is art for? Contemporary artists on their inspirations, influences and disciplines
Ben Luke
£29.99
New book by art critic and broadcaster Ben Luke reveals inspirations and motivations of leading international contemporary artists.
Drawing on over 25 years’ experience talking to artists, Ben Luke conceived and launched the A brush with… podcast in 2020 to explore the influences, rituals and disciplines of artists working today through in-depth audio interviews. Titled after the final question he asks every guest, What is art for? comprises 25 of these conversations, edited and illustrated to offer a tangible and visually rich version.
The selected artists span 12 cities across 4 continents: Michael Armitage, Phyllida Barlow, Alvaro Barrington, Michael Craig-Martin, Tacita Dean, Jeremy Deller, Ellen Gallagher, Theaster Gates, Charline von Heyl, Roni Horn, Pierre Huyghe, Arthur Jafa, Claudette Johnson, William Kentridge, Ragnar Kjartansson, Mark Leckey, Julie Mehretu, Cornelia Parker, Doris Salcedo, Dayanita Singh, Do Ho Suh, Sarah Sze, Stanley Whitney, Alberta Whittle and Zadie Xa.
The book also features newly written texts by Luke that reveal what the series has taught him, drawing out the overlaps and parallels between interviews, and the shared passions and fascinations of different artists. Taken together, the volume – which is presented in an affordable reading book format – paints a compelling and, at times, unexpected story of artists’ inspirations and motivations.
“Super dope interviews.” — Arthur Jafa
“Ben Luke is such a great thought-provocateur, especially on the subject of art.” — Cornelia Parker
“Ben’s got a knack of getting the best out of his subjects.” — Jeremy Deller
Available now exclusively on HENI.com
Publication:
September 2025
Illustrations:
350
Dimensions:
240 x 170 mm
Format:
Hardback
ISBN:
978-1-911736-17-2
No. of pages:
400
Ben Luke is a writer and broadcaster based in London. He is a contributing editor of The Art Newspaper and presents its podcasts A brush with…, of which there have been more than 100 episodes since 2020, and the topical art news programme The Week in Art, which has run for more than 300 episodes. From 2009 to 2024, he was an art critic at the London Evening Standard. He is a regular guest on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row and Monocle 24’s The Globalist. Ben has contributed to books on artists as diverse as Phyllida Barlow, Glenn Brown, Michael Craig-Martin, Mark Dion, Matthew Krishanu, George Shaw and Jiro Takamatsu. He was selected in the Critics’ Critics section of Artforum’s Best of 2024 issue.
Michael Armitage, Phyllida Barlow, Alvaro Barrington, Michael Craig-Martin, Tacita Dean, Jeremy Deller, Ellen Gallagher, Theaster Gates, Charline von Heyl, Roni Horn, Pierre Huyghe, Arthur Jafa, Claudette Johnson, William Kentridge, Ragnar Kjartansson, Mark Leckey, Julie Mehretu, Cornelia Parker, Doris Salcedo, Dayanita Singh, Do Ho Suh, Sarah Sze, Stanley Whitney, Alberta Whittle and Zadie Xa.
