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<\/p>\nStill from Anselm, 2023. Courtesy of Curzon.<\/p>\n
Art world stories find a natural home in film. Industry scandals and the dramas of artists\u2019 lives easily unfold with cinematic flair. Over the decades, directors have focused on tense studio rivalries and dealers\u2019 rituals in order to distill an ecosystem that\u2019s as emotionally charged as it is visually rich. <\/p>\n
For audiences, these films offer entry points into a trade that might otherwise feel elusive. They depict aspirations and conflicts, humor and pathos that resonate on a grand scale. And of course, there are exceptional, compelling characters. Documentaries take us behind the scenes, into the studios and minds of some of the world\u2019s most creative people. Dramas illuminate the pressures and emotional currents that shape lives with art at their center.<\/p>\n
Artsy spoke with 10 art world figures, from legendary gallerist Larry Gagosian to artist Marilyn Minter<\/a>, to compile a movie list for anyone interested in the art world. <\/p>\n Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film, 2006Directed by Ric BurnsRecommended by Larry Gagosian, founder of Gagosian<\/a> Larry Gagosian, founder of mega-gallery Gagosian<\/a>, recommended Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film (2006). \u201cMy professional life has had so much to do with Andy Warhol<\/a>,\u201d he told Artsy. \u201cI gave him his last show while he was alive, and continued selling works from his estate after his death.\u201d<\/p>\n The nearly four-hour, Peabody Award\u2013winning film traces the artist\u2019s life in New York as he skyrockets from a commercial illustrator to an era-defining pop artist. It also has some winning cameos: Marlon Brando, John F. Kennedy, and other A-list names appear in archival footage. \u201c[Warhol] had a fascinating mind, and Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film was the first major film to tell his remarkable story,\u201d Gagosian said. \u201cIt\u2019s an essential watch for anyone interested in the artist.\u201d <\/p>\n Anselm, 2023Directed by Wim Wenders<\/a>Recommended by Thaddaeus Ropac, founder of Thaddaeus Ropac<\/a> Still from Anselm, 2023. Courtesy of Curzon.<\/p>\n Throughout his work, German artist Anselm Kiefer<\/a> confronted Europe\u2019s violent histories of war and Jewish persecution. He translated those wounds into materially daring, physically imposing works built from raw materials. Thaddaeus Ropac<\/a> told Artsy that Wim Wenders\u2019s 2023 documentary Anselm invites viewers into Kiefer\u2019s \u201cvast universe.\u201d For two years, Wenders observed the artist as he created his monumental pieces. Ropac explained that the film \u201coffers a rare glimpse into the ideas, memories, and historical references that shape Kiefer\u2019s multilayered practice.\u201d <\/p>\n The film premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival and earned rave reviews. Wenders, whose films have long treated physical space as active emotional terrain, chose to shoot the documentary in 3D to fully immerse viewers in Kiefer\u2019s monumental environments. \u201cThe film is not a conventional artist biography but rather an homage to the creative world of one of the most important contemporary artists of our time,\u201d Ropac said. <\/p>\n All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, 2022Directed by Laura PoitrasRecommended by Marilyn Minter<\/a> Nan Goldin, Self portrait with scratched back after sex, London, 1978. Courtesy of Nan Goldin and NEON.<\/p>\n American painter and photographer Marilyn Minter<\/a> told Artsy that Laura Poitras\u2019s documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022) is simply \u201cthe best.\u201d It focuses on Nan Goldin<\/a>\u2019s advocacy during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and on her current work forcing pharmaceutical corporations to take accountability for the opioid crisis. Poitras is an artist herself and often makes films with an activist bent, including her Edward Snowden documentary, Citizenfour (2015). In 2016, the Whitney Museum of American Art<\/a> gave Poitras her own exhibition.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cMost movies about the art world are so far off it\u2019s ludicrous,\u201d Minter said. \u201cThey never get it right, but documentaries about artists are always interesting to me, even if they are badly made.\u201d That said, some of the films the 77-year-old artist has watched recently and recommended include Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016), How to Draw a Bunny (2002) (about artist Ray Johnson), Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV (2023), Gerhard Richter Painting (2011), and Alice Neel (2007). <\/p>\n Gerhard Richter Painting, 2011Directed by Corinna BelzRecommended by Adam Pendleton<\/a> American conceptual artist Adam Pendleton<\/a> recommended Gerhard Richter<\/a> Painting (2011), Corinna Belz\u2019s documentary about the eponymous painter. It offers a rare visit into Richter\u2019s studio, which, according to Pendleton, helps dispel inaccurate ideas about what painters do. \u201cThe romantic flash of inspiration or sweeping gesture we imagine is only part of the story,\u201d he said. The documentary shows just how physically and emotionally taxing painting can be. According to Pendleton, it\u2019s \u201cas thrilling as any action movie\u201d to watch Richter \u201cmaneuver his large, awkward squeegee across the plane of the canvas.\u201d<\/p>\n Belz also captures Richter\u2019s studio manager, who keeps the operation running. Pendleton called that unseen structure \u201cthe backbone of an artist\u2019s studio.\u2026This is what artists do,\u201d he said. \u201cPhysical, deliberate acts of magic, balanced by the familiarity of everyday life.\u201d<\/p>\n Taking Venice, 2023Directed by Amei WallachRecommended by Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu, collectors and founders of Magazzino Italian Art<\/a> Portrait of Robert Rauschenberg in front of his silkscreen painting Express at the XXXII International Biennale of Art Exhibition, Venice, 1964. Photo by Ugo Mulas. \u00a9 Ugo Mulas Heirs. <\/p>\n Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu, founders of Magazzino Italian Art<\/a> in upstate New York, organize an annual Cinema in Piazza series. This year, the collectors-turned-gallerists showed one of their favorites: Taking Venice (2023). This film focuses on the scandals of the 1964 Venice Biennale, where Robert Rauschenberg<\/a> won the Golden Lion amid a Cold War\u2013era U.S. government campaign to slant the award in his favor.<\/p>\n \u201cRauschenberg was the first American artist in the history of La Biennale to receive the top prize from the hands of the Italian Minister of Education, Luigi Gui, [who was] highly criticized for handing such a grand prize for the best foreign painting to an American artist,\u201d Olnick and Spanu said in a joint statement sent to Artsy. \u201cPaced like a thriller, this remarkable film weaves together strands of art, personalities, politics, and history into a taut and powerful narrative. Any art lover will find it irresistible.\u201d<\/p>\n Sister Wendy\u2019s Story of Painting, 1996BBC Television ProgramRecommended by Jack Shainman, founder of Jack Shainman Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n When asked to share his favorite art world movie, New York gallerist Jack Shainman<\/a> instead recommended a television miniseries about Sister Wendy Beckett, the famous nun<\/a> who also published books on art. Her fame came from a chance encounter with a BBC film crew, who interviewed her at an art exhibition in Norfolk. They decided to give her her own show. In 1992, the BBC released Sister Wendy\u2019s Odyssey, a six-episode series on the beloved art historian. Sister Wendy\u2019s Story of Painting followed in 1996.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a nun, Sister Wendy provides such a unique perspective, and it is absolutely captivating to hear a nun describe the rapture of painting and the passions of the artists,\u201d Shainman said. \u201cHer own eloquence and intelligence are so apparent throughout all her programs, and she is such a charming host that I cannot help but love her.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, Shainman made sure to emphasize that his favorite depiction of art in a film can be found in What a Way to Go (1964), a comedy starring Shirley MacLaine. Paul Newman plays an avant-garde artist, Larry, who marries MacLaine\u2019s character and makes conceptual work that literally kills him<\/a>. \u201cThe humorous, accidental approach to the whims of the art market truly tickles me, and Shirley MacLaine is, as always, just phenomenal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The Draughtsman\u2019s Contract, 1982Directed by Peter GreenawayRecommended by Lawrence Lek<\/a> Still from The Draughtman\u2019s Contract (1982). Courtesy of BFI National Archive.<\/p>\n London-based artist Lawrence Lek<\/a> selected a film set three centuries ago: The Draughtsman\u2019s Contract (1982). Peter Greenaway\u2019s British period drama focuses on R. Neville (Anthony Higgins), an artist commissioned to create 12 meticulous drawings of a wealthy patron\u2019s country estate. The works become entangled in a murder mystery. The bizarre and brainy film has become a cult classic. <\/p>\n Lek felt inspired by Greenaway\u2019s ability to channel his own creative experiences into the movie. \u201cGreenaway trained as a painter and turns perspective itself into an observational weapon about patronage and control,\u201d Lek said. He noted that if you \u201cstrip away the English period setting,\u201d the film becomes a cutting \u201csatire of art-making that still feels uncannily true to today.\u201d<\/p>\n Eva Hesse, 2016Directed by Marcie BegleiterRecommended by Kennedy Yanko<\/a> American artist Kennedy Yanko <\/a>chose Eva Hesse<\/a> (2016), a documentary about the eponymous sculptor. Directed by California-based artist Marcie Begleiter, the film celebrates Hesse\u2019s groundbreaking contribution to sculpture in the 1960s: The German American artist used latex, fiberglass, and plastics to put a deeply embodied, feminist spin on the minimalist work of her era. Yanko noted that Begleiter \u201coffers an intimate view into the mind and life of one of the most influential artists of our time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn a cultural moment where the market often dominates conversations, this film reminds us of the irreplaceable value of the artist\u2019s voice and vision,\u201d Yanko told Artsy. \u201cThrough Hesse\u2019s diaries, personal reflections, and incisive observations of the world around her, we witness not just an artist at work, but a mind deeply engaged with culture itself.\u201d Yanko believes the film is \u201cprofoundly illuminating\u201d for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the contemporary art world.<\/p>\n Art School Confidential, 2006 Directed by Terry ZwigoffRecommended by Peggy Leboeuf, senior partner at Perrotin<\/a><\/p>\n Peggy Leboeuf, a New York\u2013based senior partner at Perrotin<\/a>, recently rewatched Terry Zwigoff\u2019s Art School Confidential (2006). She\u2019d forgotten \u201cjust how much of a hidden masterpiece it is,\u201d she told Artsy. The narrative feature follows Jerome, a student who enrolls in art school among a cast of crazy professors (one played by John Malkovich) and delusional peers. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those films that completely skewers the art world while also somehow being totally in love with it,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n Before Art School Confidential, Zwigoff was best known for Crumb (1994), his unflinching documentary about the underground cartoonist<\/a> R. Crumb<\/a>. That same fascination with creative dysfunction runs beneath Art School Confidential, an adaptation of a Daniel Clowes<\/a> comic. Leboeuf warns that the film \u201cmight not be everyone\u2019s cup of tea, but if you\u2019ve ever studied art, lived around artists, or dipped even a toe into the gallery scene, you will absolutely recognize these characters.\u201d This acidic view of the art world and its delusions \u201creally captures the twisted, beautiful contradiction that is trying to \u2018make it\u2019 in the creative world.\u201d<\/p>\n The Photograph, 2020Directed by Stella MeghieRecommended by J.J. Anderson, Los Angeles\u2013based filmmaker<\/p>\n Los Angeles\u2013based director J.J. Anderson\u2014known for Positive Space (2020), a short film following four Black women curators\u2014recommended The Photograph (2020). This rom-com by Canadian filmmaker Stella Meghie follows Mae (Issa Rae), the daughter of a famous photographer, as she dives into the complex life of her mother, Christina Eames (Chant\u00e9 Adams). \u201cThis gentle love story is an intimate testimony of a photographer\u2019s compulsive need to self-express, as well as the generational ripple effects of such expression,\u201d Anderson told Artsy. Meghie highlights \u201cthe emotional labor Eames underwent to manifest a sense of autonomy through her work for the sake of herself and her lineage.\u201d <\/p>\n Anderson connected with the film on a personal level. It reflects, she said, the lives of many art professionals she knows \u201cwhose work becomes an extension of themselves, their ancestors, and their descendants.\u201d The director believes that The Photograph serves as a \u201cnecessary reminder of art\u2019s existence, impact, and urgency\u201d beyond its institutional and market value.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Art Still from Anselm, 2023. Courtesy of Curzon. Art world stories find a natural home in film. Industry…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354444,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[136510,33430,133258,6225,6485,6486,830,1120,96,89353,136511,136509,123545,121385,56,54,55,100868],"class_list":{"0":"post-354443","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-adam-pendleton","9":"tag-andy-warhol","10":"tag-anselm-kiefer","11":"tag-arts","12":"tag-arts-and-design","13":"tag-artsanddesign","14":"tag-celebrity","15":"tag-design","16":"tag-entertainment","17":"tag-gerhard-richter","18":"tag-lawrence-lek","19":"tag-marilyn-minter","20":"tag-nan-goldin","21":"tag-robert-rauschenberg","22":"tag-uk","23":"tag-united-kingdom","24":"tag-unitedkingdom","25":"tag-wim-wenders"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Andy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767668408_453_d7hftxdivxxvm.cloudfront.net.jpeg\")
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