In art history, the role of material is often overlooked. Scholars have long favoured form over matter, treating material as a medium to be shaped. Yet from gold to mud, materials carry meaning. Artists have always chosen them with care, using their physical properties as well as cultural associations to add depth and significance to their work.

On the occasion on the National Gallery's new commission, 'Mud Sun', 2025, by Richard Long (b. 1945), join Ardalan Curator of Modern and Contemporary Projects, Daniel F. Herrmann, for a lecture on the meaning of materials in art.