Yemen heritage, US flags at the National Gallery in Washington, Felix Gonzalez-Torres—podcast

Yemeni cultural heritage
© Brent Huffman
After years of civil war and continuity violence, Yemen’s heritage has suffered hugely, with buildings damaged across the country and antiquities looted. Yet across the country, there is a determination to protect and restore its historical landmarks and cultures. Ben Luke speaks to Melissa Gronlund, one of The Art Newspaper’s reporters on the Middle East, about these efforts.
Robert Frank, Parade—Hoboken, New Jersey (1955, printed 1977)
National Gallery of Art, Robert Frank Collection, Robert B. Menschel Fund, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1991.82.5 © The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation, from The Americans
At the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the exhibition American Icon: The US Flag in Art opens this weekend. Ben speaks to the gallery’s chief curatorial and conservation officer, E. Carmen Ramos, about the exhibition.
Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Untitled (Revenge) (1991) installed in Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Sweet Revenge at the Museo Reina Sofía, 2026
Installation view by Roberto Ruiz Photography
And this episode’s Work of the Week is Untitled (Revenge) (1991) by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, one of the late Cuban-American artist’s sculptures using hundreds of wrapped candies. The work was first exhibited in Madrid in 1991 and is being shown there for the first time since that initial presentation in a survey show of Gonzalez-Torres’s work at the Museo Reina Sofía, which opened last week. The exhibition’s curators are Alejandro Cesarco and Nancy Spector and Ben spoke to them about the work.
Plus, the top takeaways from the new Art Basel/UBS report and a weaving by Anni Albers
A tour of the National Gallery’s landmark exhibition with our Van Gogh expert Martin Bailey, plus a new book zoning in on the Impressionists’ “Terrible Year” and a highlight from Museum Folkwang’s hair-themed show
What might the fallout be after Creative Australia’s unpopular decision to cancel Khaled Sabsabi’s project? Plus, AI art beyond this week’s open letter and a chat about Catlett’s terracotta sculpture ‘Tired’
Plus, the US National Gallery of Art’s women artists fund and one of the last paintings of Paula Modersohn-Becker

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