Face to Face

A fascinating insight into the lives and work of a remarkable range of contemporary artists

Conducted by Richard Cork, one of the UK's most distinguished art writers, these intimate and revealing interviews provide a wealth of fascinating insights into the work of leading British artists. They discuss, often very frankly, their lives and art, their working methods, and aspirations.

The collection features an array of highly engaging and articulate artists, from Frank Auerbach, Anthony Caro, Richard Hamilton, David Hockney, and Howard Hodgkin to Cornelia Parker, Tacita Dean, Grayson Perry, and Rachel Whiteread. Drawing out Francis Bacon's impassioned musings on mortality, Tracey Emin's obsessive methods and subjects, the intensity of Anish Kapoor's internal journey, and Richard Long's epic explorations of landscape, Cork is a penetrating, insightful, and accessible interviewer. These conversations, brought together for the first time, brilliantly affirm his belief that talking to artists is like embarking on voyages of discovery.

Award-winning art critic and curator Richard Cork was 18 when he chanced upon Picasso, drew his portrait, and talked to him. This meeting sparked a life-long enthusiasm for talking to artists, which has continued throughout Cork's distinguished career as an art writer and broadcaster.

This collection of revealing conversations brings together for the first time interviews first recorded for BBC radio and as live events and takes in the pantheon of contemporary British artists, from Richard Hamilton and David Hockney to Grayson Perry and Tacita Dean. Whether drawing out Francis Bacon's musings on the afterlife, or the story behind Tracy Emin's My Bed, Cork is an insightful and sympathetic interviewer.