Share

cover art for Pierce Brosnan OBE

Talk Art

Pierce Brosnan OBE

Season 9, Ep. 6

Russell & Robert meet legendary actor Pierce Brosnan OBE, perhaps best known worldwide by another very significant name - BOND, James Bond!!!! 007 meets Talk Art!!! Speaking from his home in Kauai, Hawaii, we explore his passion for ART!!!


We discuss Pierce's longterm dedication to painting which he first seriously started in 1987 with the work 'Dark Night'. We explore his recent phone drawings, his awesome film Thomas Crown Affair (THE 1999 movie that inspired Talk Art's infamous art heist question!) and how grief and trauma can inform creativity. We hear how art has been a constant companion during a solitary journey as an actor, and as way of grieving the loss of both his first wife Cassandra in 1991 and later his daughter Charlotte in 2013, both to ovarian cancer. We learn of Pierce's late teens studying and working within commercial illustration in London, his irrepressible love of making colourful paintings and admiration for David Hockney, Picasso, Anselm Kiefer, Matisse and how the work of Roy Lichtenstein inspired his own well-known 'ear plugs' artwork, painted whilst filming 'Golden Eye'. We reminisce about the record breaking 2018 auction of his painting depicting his hero Bob Dylan which raised $1.4 million USD for AIDs charity AMFAR. We also learn of his experiments with 'plein air' painting, his friendship with artist Charles 'Chuck' Arnoldi, and a keen interest in ceramics, lino cutting and more recently wood carving... proof that Pierce's inquisitive artistic mind knows no bounds! Finally, we discuss the joy of working with late actor Robin Williams on the ICONIC 1993 movie 'Mrs Doubtfire', the film that inspired Russell to begin his own acting career.


Follow @PierceBrosnanOfficial and visit Pierce’s official website with sections dedicated to his art, his acting and activism: https://PierceBrosnan.com/ Special thanks to Seasons art gallery in Los Angeles. Visit @Seasons_LA's website to learn more about Pierce's new screenprint edition of his 'Ear Plugs' work: https://seasons.la/


For images of all artworks discussed in this episode visit @TalkArt. Talk Art theme music by Jack Northover @JackNorthoverMusic courtesy of HowlTown.com We've just joined Twitter too @TalkArt. If you've enjoyed this episode PLEASE leave us your feedback and maybe 5 stars if we're worthy in the Apple Podcast store. For all requests, please email talkart@independenttalent.com

More episodes

View all episodes

  • 1. Introducing Talk Art

    39:25||Season 1, Ep. 1
    Welcome to Talk Art! Actor Russell Tovey and gallerist Robert Diament discuss how they first became friends a decade ago, plus more recent adventures at Frieze Art Fair, the Turner Prize, South London Gallery and other exhibition highlights in London, as well as Robert's gallery relocating to the seaside town of Margate, Kent.
  • 2. Sir Michael Craig-Martin CBE

    01:05:51||Season 1, Ep. 2
    Russell & Robert talk with leading artist Sir Michael Craig-Martin CBE exploring 50 years of art-making. From his early 1960s work as a conceptual artist culminating in the seminal ‘An Oak Tree’ (1973) through to more recent decades as an internationally-renowned painter, sculptor and printmaker as well as his influential role as a teacher to two generations of Young British Artists at Goldsmiths.
  • 3. Pedro Pascal

    01:00:02||Season 1, Ep. 3
    Russell & Robert talk with leading actor Pedro Pascal, star of Narcos, Game of Thrones and forthcoming Star Wars 'The Mandalorian'. They discuss his favourite artist, a classic painting on display at Museum of Modern Art that offered Pedro comfort when he moved to New York in the mid 1990s, as well as his more recent art experiences at Tate Modern and Frieze Art Fair whilst filming in London for his latest movie Wonder Woman 1984.
  • 4. Sarah Hadland and Laura Aikman

    53:37||Season 1, Ep. 4
    We celebrate the holidays with two dear friends, the actresses Sarah Hadland and Laura Aikman (both stars of The Job Lot comedy sitcom with Russell). Topics include Olafur Eliasson’s melting ice installation highlighting climate change, Yayoi Kusama’s infinity mirrored room, the paintings of LS Lowry, Beryl Cook, Picasso and Ed Ruscha. Plus we discover which guest once pole danced for Madonna! Happy Christmas everyone. We will return in Spring 2019 with a weekly season. Love Russell and Robert X
  • 5. Louisa Buck

    50:02||Season 1, Ep. 5
    Robert & Russell chat with leading British art critic and author Louisa Buck, columnist for the Art Newspaper and a judge of the Turner Prize in 2005. They explore how the art world has evolved since the 1980s and 90s, discover which artwork Grayson Perry made as a commission to commemorate the birth of Louisa's daughter as well as revealing the best, and very worst, interviews she's conducted. Happy International Women's Day!
  • 6. Martin Creed

    01:00:57||Season 1, Ep. 6
    Robert & Russell meet legendary artist and ‘poet of the everyday’ Martin Creed (and his dog Jimmy). Find out why this Turner Prize winner doesn’t read reviews of his own work, who his favourite comedians are and how music has informed his art. We delve deep into Creed’s creative output spanning more than 30 years. From a giant kinetic sculpture with the word MOTHERS lit up in neon, a live performance where athletes run through the Tate as fast as they can, to a more recent handmade textile work: a multicoloured neck-warmer (worn by the artist during this very interview).
  • 7. Sadie Coles

    46:12||Season 1, Ep. 7
    Robert & Russell meet gallerist Sadie Coles, one of the world’s most respected and successful art dealers. Discover why she set up her gallery in London after managing Jeff Koons’ studio in New York in the mid 1990s; how she first discovered the work of Sarah Lucas and John Currin; the skill of representing new artists on the primary market and the importance of taking a longterm view. We discuss feminism and equality in the workplace and why it's good to be collegiate. Finally we explore childhood trips to visit Tutankhamun at the British Museum, a memorable performance by mime artist/choreographer Lindsay Kemp and a pivotal Nancy Grossman exhibition.
  • 8. Tracey Emin CBE

    01:07:57||Season 1, Ep. 8
    Robert & Russell meet Tracey Emin CBE, one of the world’s most respected, successful and controversial artists. During an hour-long private tour of her current solo exhibition ‘A Fortnight of Tears’, we explore her mother’s recent death, grief, everlasting love, the supernatural, insomnia and abortion. Tracey reveals that nature is one of her biggest influences and how working in a small South of France studio enabled the artist to wholeheartedly and triumphantly return to painting. Learn more about her longterm connection to the work of Edvard Munch, her return to her childhood hometown of Margate and why, surprisingly, she doesn’t keep a diary. For images of all works discussed in this episode, visit our Instagram @TalkArt Please leave us a review and rating if you’ve enjoyed this episode!
  • 9. Ryan Gander OBE

    56:50||Season 1, Ep. 9
    Russell & Robert chat to leading conceptual artist Ryan Gander OBE. We explore artist persona, designing a kitchen sink, family ties, the soul of objects and why his art has been so commercially successful in Japan. Ryan reveals how a limited edition Rolex watch transformed into an artwork, why he worked with glow-in-the-dark concrete, the importance of empathy and why we should all ‘let the world take a turn'. For images of works discussed in this episode, visit our Instagram @TalkArt. Ryan’s new BBC Four documentary ‘Me, My Selfie and I’ is available to view on iPlayer until mid April 2019. Please leave us a review and rating if you’ve enjoyed this episode!