David Hockney, 25

Providing a comprehensive overview of Hockney’s career and his continued evolution as an artist, the exhibition will bring together works from collections across the world. Emphasis on Hockney’s broad mastery of medium will be central to the exhibition’s aim, with works spanning both traditional and newer digital mediums.

Hockney’s early talents and artistic influences will be traced from his beginnings in Bradford and London through to his artistic maturation in California, where swimming pools became a central theme in his work. Drawn to both the technical challenges of depicting water and the sense of freedom they symbolised, he frequently returned to this subject throughout his career.

Some of his most famous pools will be on display, including A Bigger Splash (1967) and Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) (1972), the latter of which is the third most expensive artwork ever sold by a living artist. Alongside these will hang many of his most iconic portraits, including Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Percy (1970-71) and Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy (1968).

Hockney’s deep connection to nature will be another central theme of the exhibition. With a particular focus on the last twenty-five years, the exhibition will investigate the artist’s time in Yorkshire, London, and Normandy, where he primarily resides today. This period is largely defined by his landscapes and portraits of loved ones, predominantly created as iPad drawings and acrylic paintings. The Fondation’s entire first floor will be dedicated to such work, made in the picturesque countryside of Normandy.

The exhibition will also celebrate Hockney in dialogue with the masters of European art, including Fra Angelico, Claude Lorrain, Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso. As well as this, the Fondation are creating an immersive experience in the gallery’s largest exhibition room, welcoming visitors into a reconstruction of the artist’s home studio transformed into a dance hall, complete with set design by Hockney in collaboration with 59 Studio, offering an insight into his longstanding love affair with opera and theatre.

Hockney has been involved in the exhibition, working alongside curators Suzanne Pagé, Sir Norman Rosenthal, and François Michaud, as well as his partner and studio manager Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima, and assistant Jonathan Wilkinson.

Recent paintings that will be on view are altogether more mystical, and take his art in an exciting new direction, drawing inspiration from his lifelong appreciation of poetry and paying direct homage to Edvard Munch and William Blake. This influence is evident in After Munch: Less is Known than People Think (2023) and After Blake: Less is Known than People Think (2024), highly spiritual pieces that mark a fresh chapter in his creative journey, both of which are to be displayed in the final room, alongside a recent self-portrait.

Now at the age of 87, his career is characterised by curiosity, playfulness, and boundless creativity. A master of traditional techniques and a key pioneer of new technologies, Hockney continues to push artistic boundaries, proving that he is as relevant today as ever.

While you wait for 25 to open, you can view Hockney’s graphic works now in David Hockney, Living in Colour at Halcyon until 16 February. The exhibition is open daily and is free to visit.

If you are interested in adding to your collection speak to one of our art consultants now - email us at info@halcyongallery.com