Between pop art and hyperrealism, the work of David Hockney is plural but recognizable. Named a member of the British Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth II, the English artist has been able to move from acrylic painting to photography while capturing the era of time to evolve his work.
Born in 1937 in Bradford, UK, David Hockney studied fine arts in 1953 and joined the Royal College of Art in London six years later.
A $90 million project
His first job starts at the Sunday Times, where he is appointed press cartoonist during a trip to Egypt. When he arrived in California in 1964, in Los Angeles, the aspiring artist took a passion for the games of transparency and the relief of swimming pools.
David Hockney then blends into this solar and hedonistic environment. The painter is inspired by this cool and uninhibited life to create several paintings. Influenced by Vermeer, Fra Angelico, Picasso and Matisse, David Hockney completed his legendary series Pool Paintings in 1972 with The Little Splash, The Splash and A Bigger Splash.
Portrait of an artist (Swimming pool with two characters) in 1972 is one of his best known works, representing two characters, one swimming underwater and the other looking at the swimmer. It was awarded over $90 million (nearly €83 million) at an auction at Christie’s in New York in 2018, a record for a living artist to surpass Jeff Koons.
In the 1970s, he turned to photography and created assemblages of photographs taken from various points of view («joiners») as well as portraits and landscapes using a Polaroid. He imagines a series of double portraits, with Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Percy (1970-1971) and Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy (1968).
Inspired by nature
While in Paris, the Musée des Arts décoratifs organized a retrospective on the artist in 1974. In the 1980s and 1990s, David Hockney placed more emphasis on nature. One example is A Bigger Grand Canyon (1998). In 1999, he is exhibited at the Centre Georges-Pompidou.
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Back in England in 2005, he painted familiar landscapes, large readable watercolors with, again, different points of view. He is also interested in new technologies to put them at the service of his art, with the use of a laser color photocopier, fax, computer or even iPhone and camera.
His greatest works exhibited at the Fondation Louis Vuitton
Exhibited all over the world, from New York to Paris and London to Venice, David Hockney is now in a new exhibition at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. From 9 April to 31 August 2025, the institution presents more than 400 works by the artist, dating from 1955 to 2025. He himself was involved in the creation of this exhibition, which covers no less than 11 rooms.
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“David Hockney, 25” will focus on the last 25 years of his work but will also unveil his iconic pieces. In the last room, the artist will unveil his latest self-portrait.
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Featured photo: © David Hockney
