with Tabish Khan

• Spanish
• English
• Italian

Art Critic | Writer | Speaker

Being an Art Critic is a relatively recent profession, linked primarily to the worlds of journalism and written communication. For generations it has been considered almost a literary genre in itself, but thanks to the democratisation of the art market and the rise of digital communication it is no longer enough to be a prolific author in order to become an influential art critic. In our opinion, Tabish Khan is the perfect example of what it means to be an art critic today, with an important voice and dynamic presence within the media, generating information for the consumption of not only the specialised sectors but for the general public as well.

They say that curiosity kills the cat, but it is curiosity that has allowed Tabish to open up to the art world, discovering in the process an inexhaustible source of knowledge and stimulating experiences that have allowed him to not only nourish himself, but to also share them with the public. Tabish has, over the years, established himself as an efficient, accessible and effective art critic. He is a pragmatic, open and clear communicator who has, almost accidentally, become embedded within an ecosystem of exhibitions that take place within London galleries and museums and which isn’t necessarily always that inclusive.

Writer, speaker and art critic, Tabish Khan religiously shares his monthly and weekly recommendations in publications such as Londonist and FAD, while in the latter he also publishes his column ‘What’s wrong with Art?’. With his perseverance and passion for the world of contemporary and historical exhibitions, Tabish has become an important voice on the London scene. And this is undoubtedly because he does not address the public from a Mount Olympus of the Fine Arts world: The language he uses is not overly technical or hermetic – on the contrary, his texts exude to the point, entertaining and useful information, allowing him to connect with his audience in an extremely organic and intimate way. He shares news about the most relevant art exhibitions in London, allowing the same perplexity that these exhibitions could arouse in any of his readers to be seen in his own gaze. Thanks to his constant, genuine and inexhaustible interest in both the established and emerging art scenes, Tabish’s articles are a guide and a map with which to navigate the complex and ultra prolific cultural offerings of the city to which he was born.

It is because of all this that we wanted to talk to Tabish, in order to discover the personal stories, experiences and visions behind his public persona. This episode is full of anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories, so listen to it and discover the sensible, lucid and transparent man that Carla had the pleasure of unveiling layer by layer.

And now, enjoy the interview!

Listen to Podcast
This interview was recorded on the 20th of March 2020 and released on the 1st of June 2020

Further Information:

Related Links
Tabish Khan: Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
Organisations: ArtCan
Publications: Londonist | FAD magazine

References during the interview
Art Critic 00:46 | Londonist 00:53 | FAD magazine 00:54 | The Other Art Fair 01:03 | ArtCan 01:07 | GCSEs 01:39 | ‘A’ Levels 01:41 | Biomedical Science 01:47 | The Arts 02:02 | The London Underground 02:15 | Tate 02:31 | The Royal Academy 02:32 | The National Portrait Gallery 02:35 | Blog 03:23 | Editor 04:49 | Long-Form Journalism 06:19 | Avant-garde 08:41 | Andy Warhol 09:28 | Damien Hirst 13:30 | Private View 16:18 | Mayfair 16:24 | Robert De Niro 18:39 | Courtauld Institute of Art 21:55 | Press Release 28:30 | Elevator Pitch 29:33 | ‘Picasso and Paper’ at the Royal Academy 30:30 | ‘Picasso 1932 – Love, Fame, Tragedy’ at Tate Modern 30:44 | Pablo Picasso 30:52 | ‘Among the Trees’ at the Hayward Gallery 31:01 | Hayward Gallery 31:07 | The Guardian 32:33 | Carbon Footprint 36:33 | Virtual Reality 36:55 | COVID-19 37:43 | The Other Art Fair 38:02 | The Affordable Art Fair 38:04 | Bob and Roberta Smith 40:02 | Tracey Emin 40:04 | Instagram 40:27 | Amnesty UK Photojournalism Award 44:06 | Ebola Outbreaks 44:15 | Afghanistan Conflict 44:17 | Kate Enters 49:26 | Mixed Media 49:59 | Performance Art 50:02 | Conceptual Art 50:30 | Frieze Art Fair 50:42 | Installation Art 51:15 | Salon Hang 52:10 | Antony Gormley 54:11 | Anish Kapoor 54:12 | #ArtistSupportPledge 54:47 | ‘Big Bang Data’ at Somerset House 56:06 | Somerset House 56:10 | Fran Giffard 56:27 | David Wightman 56:36 | Roy’s Art Fair 57:55 | The Curious Duke Gallery 59:28 | Victoria and Albert Museum 01:00:35 | European Cast Court 01:01:18 | Michelangelo’s David 01:01:25 | Raphael’s The School of Athens 01:01:30 | ‘The Gates of Paradise’ by Lorenzo Ghiberti in The Florence Baptistery 01:01:31 | Hashtag # 01:02:42 | Brick Lane 01:03:52 | London Bangladeshi Community 01:03:57 | The British Museum 01:04:14 | British Museum Islamic Galleries 01:04:17 | ‘Soul of a Nation’ at Tate Modern 01:04:35

Interview Credits:

Production by Carla Tofano & Toby Deveson | Subtitles by Valentina Sarno | Onset artwork: Photography by Toby Deveson & drawing of Carla by Alexandra Veres | Title music written and performed by Maya Petrovna | Cameras & Sound kindly supplied by Jim Shannon & Murray Stewart