Yemen heritage, US flags at the National Gallery in Washington, Felix Gonzalez-Torres
6/4/202645 min
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. 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. 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.
American Icon: The US Flag in Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 6 June-6 December
Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Sweet Revenge, Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid, until 12 October
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[intro music] Hello, it's The Week in Art, I'm Ben Luke. This week, the battle to restore and protect heritage in Yemen, an exhibition about the US flag at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and Felix Gonzalez-Torres in Madrid. After years of civil war, Yemen's heritage has suffered hugely, with buildings damaged across the country and antiquities looted. While heavy fighting subsided after a 2022 United Nations-brokered ceasefire between North and South Yemen, the North continues to be targeted by Israeli bombing campaigns in retaliation for Houthi support for Gaza, and tensions persist between the two regions. Yet across the country, there's a determination to protect and restore its historical landmarks and cultures. I speak to Melissa Gronlund, one of our reporters on the Middle East, about these efforts. At the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, the exhibition American Icon: The US Flag in Art opens this weekend. I speak to the gallery's chief curatorial and conservation officer, E. Carmen Ramos, about the exhibition. And this episode's work of the week is Untitled (Revenge) from 1991 by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, one of the late Cuban-American artist's sculptures using hundreds of wrapped candies. The work was