A brush with… Catherine Opie is out now.

In the latest episode of the podcast from The Art Newspaper, Catherine Opie talks to Ben Luke about her influences and the cultural experiences that have shaped her life and work, ahead of a major solo exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Over more than three decades Opie has created photographic portraits, cityscapes and landscapes that have borne witness to social and political conditions and tensions, particularly in her native United States, while also reflecting a deeply personal response to people and community.

In this episode Opie talks about her early discovery and desire to make pictures, aged nine, and the key figures that helped her choose to become an artist. She reflects on a diverse range of artists, from Holbein and Leonardo to Gerhard Richter and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, on the influence of writers including Joan Didion and Octavia Butler, and on her admiration for filmmakers Chloe Zhao and Chris Marker, as well as offering insights into her life in the studio, and the darkroom.

Catherine Opie: To Be Seen at the National Portrait Gallery, London, 5 March–1 May 2026.

Catherine Opie: The Pause that Dreams Against Erasure continues at The Fridericianum, Kassel, until 19 July 2026.