The story of gold: modern imaginations (part three)

03/12/2025 59 min
The story of gold: modern imaginations (part three)

Listen "The story of gold: modern imaginations (part three)"

Episode Synopsis

When the artist Louise Nevelson immigrated to America as a child, she was told that ‘the streets... would be paved in gold’. Obviously, they weren’t, but that hasn’t stopped modern artists turning pretty much everything else golden. Even a toilet. Join National Gallery Courses and Events Programmer Caroline Miller, Associate Curator of Contemporary and Modern Priyesh Mistry and host Beks in the final episode of our sparkling miniseries, where we look to uses of gold in modern and contemporary art. From glistening gold in Gustav Klimt’s ‘The Kiss’ to an artwork so valuable it has hardly ever been displayed. We explore what gold has meant for contemporary artists and how they have tested the limits of this sparkling colour and material. Caroline is the Courses and Events Programmer at the Gallery. She develops online and in-person courses that expand access and engagement for the National Gallery’s audiences worldwide. Priyesh is Associate Curator, Contemporary and Modern at the National Gallery where he works towards an ambitious programme to integrate contemporary art within the context of the museum and its historic collections. _______Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3I4VzE_QPI You can email us with any questions via [email protected] Find out more about the podcast on our website: www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast _______Paintings mentioned:Joseph Beuys, ‘How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare’, 1965. Galerie Schmela, Düsseldorf [Performance art] https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/434.1997.9/  Anselm Kiefer, 'Mein Rhine', 2024. Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg Villa Kast [Exhibition] https://ropac.net/online-exhibitions/171-anselm-kiefer-mein-rhein/ Jan van Eyck, ‘The Arnolfini Portrait’, 1434. The National Gallery, London https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/jan-van-eyck-the-arnolfini-portrait Anselm Kiefer, 'Field of the Cloth of Gold', 2021. Gagosian, Le Bourget [Exhibition] https://gagosian.com/exhibitions/2021/anselm-kiefer-field-of-the-cloth-of-gold/ Anselm Kiefer, ‘Aus Herzen und Hirnen sprießen die Halme der Nacht (From Hearts and Brains the Stalks of Night Are Sprouting)’, 2019-2020. Emulsion, oil, acrylic, shellac, straw, gold leaf, wood, and metal on...