Hans Ulrich Obrist is the artistic director of the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington, west London, and is universally acknowledged as one of the most important and prolific art curators of our time. He’s known for his broad, cross-disciplinary approach, in which subjects such as technology, literature and philosophy inform his work. As a guest on our podcast, Homing In – on which subjects typically discuss a home from their past, present and future – Hans goes somewhat off-piste. But that’s what makes this episode all the more enticing. Here, our host, Matt Gibberd, shares his highlights from their conversation.

“When I spoke to Hans in his office at the Serpentine, I discovered a force of nature with an energy unlike that of anyone I’ve met before. Words tumbled out of him in great torrents, including anecdotes, quotations and the names of artists who’ve influenced him, such as Swiss duo Fischli/Weiss and Lebanese painter Etel Adnan.

“Hans is famous for hardly sleeping and for conducting 24-hour conversation ‘marathons’ that have left him hospitalised. His notion of home is also pretty extreme. When he was a student, he turned his flat into a gallery – in fact, he couldn’t cook because the kitchen was full of books and there were marble eggs in the fridge instead of real ones.

“Later in life, he spent several months in a hotel in Paris and every day he would invite a different artist into his room to install an artwork. He’s also lived in some of the world’s most famous house-museums, including modernist architect Luis Barragán’s house in Mexico City and the 19th-century London home of architect and collector Sir John Soane.

“This episode doesn’t follow the usual format, but I think it’s a really interesting portrait of a brilliant man. I hope you enjoy it!”

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