Robert & Russell meet leading curator Ralph Rugoff OBE, the director of London's Hayward Gallery since 2006, and the curator of the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019, titled May You Live in Interesting Times.

We explore the Hayward's stunning new exhibition Mixing It Up: Painting Today that brings together 31 contemporary painters who exploit the unique characteristics of their medium to create fresh, compelling works of art that speak to this moment. Approaching painting as a platform for speculative thinking and unexpected conversations, the artists in this exhibition make works that oscillate between observation and invention, depiction and allegory, illusion and materiality.

Instead of trying to craft iconic images, they treat the canvas as a site of assemblage where references converge from diverse territories including music, design, advertising, vernacular and documentary photography, viral memes, fashion and cinema, as well as art history. Resonantly ambiguous, their paintings invite viewers to recruit their own imaginations in working out different ways to interpret them, while often questioning how their social reception might shift among different audiences.

This extraordinary exhibition includes new and recent works by 31 artists including previous Talk Art guests Alvaro Barrington, Caroline Coon, Somaya Critchlow, Jadé Fadojutimi, Denzil Forrester, Lubaina Himid, Sophie von Hellermann and Rose Wylie.

Rugoff was born in New York City and studied semiotics at Brown University. Prior to the Hayward, he was director of the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts in San Francisco for nearly six years.

Follow @RalphRugoff and @Hayward.Gallery on Instagram. Mixing It Up is now open and runs until 12th December 2021. To buy tickets or Hayward Gallery membership, visit their official website: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/art-exhibitions/mixing-it-painting-today

For images of all artworks discussed in this episode visit @TalkArt. Talk Art theme music by Jack Northover @JackNorthoverMusic courtesy of HowlTown.com We've just joined Twitter too @TalkArt. If you've enjoyed this episode PLEASE leave us your feedback and maybe 5 stars if we're worthy in the Apple Podcast store. For all requests, please email talkart@independenttalent.com

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