The World of Art

If you like true crime, but are fed up with listening about murder and violence – this could be for you.  It tells the story of the most valuable — and confounding — art heist in history: In 1990, 13 artworks were stolen from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Twenty-eight years later, not a single piece in a haul worth half a billion dollars has surfaced. The art, and the thieves who made off with it, remain at large. With first-ever interviews, unprecedented access, and more than a year of investigative reporting, “Last Seen” takes us into the biggest unsolved art heist in history. A joint production from WBUR and The Boston Globe.

We start at Episode 1: ’81 Minutes’

In the last of his four Reith Lectures, recorded in front of an audience at Central St Martins School of Art in London, the artist Grayson Perry discusses his life in the art world; the journey from the unconscious child playing with paint, to the award-winning successful artist of today. He talks about being an outsider and how he struggles with keeping his integrity as an artist. Perry looks back and asks why men and women throughout history, despite all the various privations they suffered, have always made art. And he discusses the central purpose of creating art – to heal psychic wounds and to make meaning.

Perry was awarded the Turner Prize in 2003 and is well known for his ceramic works, printmaking, drawing, sculpture and tapestry. He is also known as one of Britain’s most famous cross-dressers as alter ego Claire.

The Reith Lectures are presented by Sue Lawley and produced by Jim Frank.

Actor Russell Tovey and gallerist Robert Diament host Talk Art, a podcast dedicated to the world of art featuring exclusive interviews with leading artists, curators & gallerists, and even occasionally their talented friends from other industries like acting, music and journalism. Listen in to explore the magic of art and why it connects us all in such fantastic ways. Follow the official Instagram @TalkArt for images of artworks discussed in each episode and to follow Russell and Robert’s latest art adventures.

In this episode, Russell & Robert meet iconic British actor Sir Ian McKellen CBE at his home in East London. They have a private tour of Ian’s art collection including stunning works by L.S. Lowry, David Hockney, Andrew Logan, textile artist John Allen and an Antony Gormley cast iron figure he chose to display in the River Thames at the end of his garden!

A series telling the human stories behind art in Tate’s collection. From love and creativity, to failure and protest, each episode explores how art reflects universal experiences. Hear from creatives, curators, gallery visitors and even comedians as they chat about art and how it’s relevant to our lives today.

This episode is entitled The Art of Slow Looking.  How long do you usually spend looking at art?  Do you feel overwhelmed?  This is about the art of slowing down, and teaches and shares techniques for slow looking with the help of a former monk, a psychologist, a tour guide at Tate Modern and someone who has spent 15 years looking at just one painting!