Interviews

The poetry of Polaroids, chez François Halard

Locked down in Arles, the celebrated interiors photographer François Halard made a series of dreamlike Polaroids that emerge as an enigmatic self-portrait

8 Mar 2021
Untitled (lockdown portrait) (detail; 2020), Gillian Wearing.

Behind the mask? An interview with Gillian Wearing

Gillian Wearing is in an unusually candid mode in her lockdown paintings, writes Martin Herbert – if you take them at face value, that is

6 Mar 2021
Lisa Yuskavage photographed at her studio in December 2020.

For Lisa Yuskavage, art isn’t about being right or wrong – it’s the freedom to do what you want

She may paint Penthouse pin-ups, but Lisa Yuskavage’s work is far more compassionate than some critics allow – not that she makes art with morality in mind

22 Feb 2021
Maggi Hambling, photographed with her pug, Peggy, in November 2020.

‘The thing is to be brave’ – Maggi Hambling toughs it out

From that scandalous scallop to her Mary Wollstonecraft monument, Maggi Hambling is no stranger to controversy

23 Jan 2021
Simon Njami.

‘The future is certainly in Africa’ – an interview with Simon Njami

The writer and curator discusses his latest project at Art Abu Dhabi and how the contemporary art scene in Africa has changed in recent years

20 Nov 2020
Rashid Johnson, photographed in his studio in New York in 2020.

Escape artist – an interview with Rashid Johnson

The conceptual artist talks about his interest in unusual materials – and in what it means to ‘run’

8 Nov 2020
Hard Rain Gon’ Come (2020), Christina Quarles.

‘My painting explores what it means to inhabit your own body’ – an interview with Christina Quarles

In her enigmatic paintings, the California-based artist explores the gap between our bodies and how they’re perceived

5 Nov 2020
Installation view of ‘Night into Day’ at the Fondation Cartier, Paris, in October 2020.

Sarah Sze makes sense of time and space

The sculptor’s installation at the Fondation Cartier uses images and streams of information to investigate the nature of reality

27 Oct 2020
Installation view, Oliver Beer, 'Oma', Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, London (12 September–24 October 2020).

Sounds of silence – an interview with Oliver Beer

Oliver Beer’s sound installations reveal a music that was already quietly present

20 Oct 2020
Tapes from Pearson's Basement (2014), from the series Hard Copy, Julia Christensen.

‘We are enacting a planetary crisis with electronics’ – an interview with Julia Christensen

The Ohio-based artist discusses her long-term research into our throwaway culture – and how a LACMA fellowship led to her working with NASA

15 Oct 2020
Flora Yukhnovich.

Flora Yukhnovich takes on Tiepolo in Venice

The London-based artist discusses her reimaginings of the Venetian painter’s celestial visions

23 Sep 2020
Nalini Malani, photographed at home in Amsterdam in August 2020.

Art without borders – an interview with Nalini Malani

The artist talks about how the history of modern India has shaped her life and her desire to reach a wide audience

19 Sep 2020
Franco Maria Ricci, photographed in the library of his home near the Labirinto della Masone in Fontanellato, near Parma, in July 2019.

Franco Maria Ricci (1937–2020)

The legendary Italian publisher has died at the age of 82. In this republished profile from 2019, he opened his library and richly idiosyncratic art collection to Apollo

11 Sep 2020
Self-Portrait: An Unfinished Work (detail; 2011), Eric Fischl

Uncertainty principle – an interview with Eric Fischl

The American artist looks back at a career firmly dedicated to painting and the possibilities of figurative art

16 Aug 2020
Alfredo Jaar photographed next to his installation ‘The Sound of Silence’ (2006) at Yorkshire Sculpture Park in October 2017. Photo by Jonty Wilde

Photo realism – an interview with Alfredo Jaar

The Chilean-born artist talks about his ambivalent attitude towards photography and his utopian feelings about art

26 Jul 2020
A volunteer mathematics teacher with students at Tufts, Mound Bayou, Mississippi (1968), Doris Derby.

‘We were documenting for history’ – an interview with Civil Rights photographer Doris Derby

The activist, educator and artist discusses a lifetime spent fighting for racial justice – and the role that images can play in this struggle

10 Jul 2020
Gabriele Finaldi, director of the National Gallery, London.

‘Art is important to the recovery of our country’ – an interview with Gabriele Finaldi

The director of the National Gallery on what visitors can expect when the museum reopens – and how, while it’s been closed, it has been rethinking its relationship with its audience

4 Jul 2020
Julio Le Parc, photographed in his studio in Cachan in February 2020 by Claire Dorn

The joyful art of Julio Le Parc

The Argentinian-born artist, now in his tenth decade, reflects on a life devoted to trying new things

20 Jun 2020
Lonnie Holley in Birmingham, Alabama.

‘The truth is contagious’ – an interview with Lonnie Holley

The artist and musician first turned to sculpture after a personal tragedy, but his work is rooted in the history of the American South

16 Jun 2020
Emilie Gordenker outside the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam on 1 June, when the museum reopened.

‘This is the moment to reach out to our Dutch public’ – Emilie Gordenker on the reopening of the Van Gogh Museum

The museum’s director talks about how the institution can best serve its audience in challenging times

8 Jun 2020
Yinka Shonibare, photographed at his studio in London in February 2020.

The wit and wisdom of Yinka Shonibare

The artist discusses his plans for a new residency in Lagos, and delves into the serious mischief of his sculptures

2 May 2020
Uffizi director Eike Schmidt in front of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, at the reopening of the gallery’s room dedicated to the artist in 2016. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images

‘We are ready to open’ – the Uffizi Galleries prepare for life after lockdown

Uffizi director Eike Schmidt discusses plans to reopen the galleries as the Italian government eases lockdown regulations

30 Apr 2020
Christo and Jeanne-Claude at The Pont Neuf Wrapped (1975–85) in 1985.

‘Freedom cannot be invented’ – an interview with Christo

The artist discusses his unorthodox methods, his long partnership with the late Jeanne-Claude, and finally being allowed to wrap the Arc de Triomphe

28 Mar 2020
Pietà (detail; c. 1720), Melchor Pérez Holguín.

Pathos in Potosí – a Bolivian masterpiece at LACMA

Curator Ilona Katzew discusses the restoration of a Pietà by Melchor Pérez Holguín – one of the most singular South American painters of his day

9 Mar 2020