Share

cover art for Ryan Murphy (New Year Special Episode)

Talk Art

Ryan Murphy (New Year Special Episode)

Season 19, Ep. 10

It's 2024!!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! We meet iconic writer, director, and producer RYAN MURPHY, best known for American Horror Story, Dahmer, Pose, The Andy Warhol Diaries, Ratched, The Watcher and Glee. We explore his love of collecting and preserving artworks including Old Masters, his passion for artists Andy Warhol, Patrick Angus, Helen Frankenthaler, restoring and safeguarding Hans Hofmann’s house/studio, how art inspires his own creativity and writing, plus we discuss the forthcoming new TV series Feud: Capote vs The Swans, produced by Ryan and co-starring Talk Art's very own Russell Tovey.


Born November 9, 1965 in Indianapolis, Indiana, US as Ryan Murphy is responsible for creating such hits as Nip/Tuck (2003)Glee (2009) and American Horror Story (2011). He attended a Catholic school till the eighth grade and graduated from Warren Central High School. He went on to study journalism at the Indiana University Bloomington, where he was also a member of a vocal ensemble, and went on to intern in the style section of The Washington Post in 1986. In 1990 he got into screenwriting, but only in 1999 was his first story produced: it was Popular (1999), a teen comedy show, which he co-created with Gina Matthews and which run for two seasons. In 2003 he created Nip/Tuck (2003), which brought him his first Emmy nomination. He won the award six years later, when in 2009 he directed the pilot of his hit series Glee (2009) which he co-created with Ian Brennan and Brad Falchuk. In 2011 he and Falchuk co-crated another highly popular series, American Horror Story (2011).


In 2015 he was awarded the Award for Inspiration from amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. In 2018 Murphy signed a five-year $300 million development deal with Netflix. He is a pan equal opportunities activist, both through his movies and television projects which very often focus on the LGBTQ+ community, and as a creator of the Half Initiative, which aims at making Hollywood more inclusive for women and minorities. In 2023, Murphy received the prestigious ‘Carol Burnett Award’ at the Golden Globes. He has won five Golden Globes and has been nominated 16 times for his work. He's been married to photographer David Miller since 2012. They have three sons, Logan Phineas, Ford, and Griffin Sullivan.


Follow @RyanMurphyProductions on Instagram. Stream 'Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans', which premieres on January 31, 2024, on FX and will then stream on Hulu. The series will also be available worldwide to stream via Disney+ including the UK and Europe.

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!