David Hockney's mother, Laura, was born in Bradford in 1900. She was an inspiration for his art and was the subject of many of his portraits throughout her life until she died in 1999 aged 98.
This collage of over seven hundred fifty individual photographs took more than a week to photograph and five studio days to compose. This ambitious and creative process provided Hockney with a unique means to comment upon the nature of observation.
DAVID HOCKNEY is also one of my very favorite painters. "One of the foremost painters, designers, and photographers of the 20th-century contemporary art scene in the United States and England, David Hockney was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England on July 9, 1937, to Laura and Kenneth Hockney.
He experimented with numerous styles including that of Italian master, Piero della Francesca,(c. 1416-1492) and Hockney became one of the most important portraitists of his era, renowned for depictions of family and people he met in his extensive travels.
He experimented with numerous styles including that of Italian master, Piero della Francesca,(c. 1416-1492) and Hockney became one of the most important portraitists of his era, renowned for depictions of family and people he met in his extensive travels.
He studied at Bradford College of Art in 1957 and in 1962 at the Royal College of Art. In the 1960s, much of his work was a homage to his heroes that included Picasso, Dubuffet, and Matisse combined with the influence of Abstract Expressionism. In the mid 1970s, he spent three years in Paris and then traveled to Los Angeles where he did a series of lithographs and also did his first opera design, which was for Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress." In 1988, the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, awarded him an honorary doctorate.
He has had numerous one-man shows including at the Kasmin Gallery, 1963-1989; in New York at the Museum of Modern Art in 1964 and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1988; the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Holland in 1966; and the Tate Gallery in London in 1988. He has also been a stage set designer for the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
Hockney has lectured at universities including the University of Iowa in 1964, the University of Colorado in 1965, the University of California in Los Angeles in 1966, and the University of California-Berkeley in 1967.
In 1998, he did a series of vivid pastels on the Grand Canyon called "David Hockney: Space & Line," that were exhibited in Paris at Centre George Pompidou from January 27 to April 26th, 1999, and following that for a month at the Richard Gray Gallery in New York City.
The paintings are large-scale, impressionist close-ups of the Canyon in the morning light. In 1999, he won the Wollaston award for some of his Canyon paintings, which were exhibited at London's Royal Academy.
In 2001, Hockney's book "Secret Knowledge" was published by Viking Press and stirred much discussion with his assertion that many of the Old Masters including Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Durer frequently used optical devices to achieve their near perfect realism. His theory is that the mirror, the camera obscura, and the camera lucida were widely used by artists as early as the 1400s and that the introduction of photography in the 19th century freed artists from realism."
(Text from www.askart.com/ )
Excellent, Sonia! A nice Easter present. Thanks and have a great day!
ReplyDeleteFABULOUS Sonia! Just wondeful...I remember seeing a Hockney Exhibit at The Los Angeles County Museum and absolutely loving his work!
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, Nichols Canyon is about 5 minutes from me...the next Canyon to the West of me, actually...And The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is about 3 minutes from me where he painted the Pool! (They may have painted it out by now--in the name of progress--but I don't know that for sure...)
Terrific post, Sonia...Thanks so much for giving us this Mini-Show of Hockney!
Great pictures Sonia. Thanks for the info on the painter! Hope you are having a wonderful Easter!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy Hockney, too, Sonia. I particularly like his earlier work, which is sparser and has a clarity to it that is striking to me. I wonder if you've read any of the controversy surrounding the book "Secret Knowledge." Dr. Charles Falco, who is mentioned in the New York Times article, is at the centre of the controversy alongside Hockney. Charlie is a professor of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona, the same department in which my husband teaches. There's been quite a bit of additional research done by Falco since that article. I've heard him make a couple of presentations on the subject. It's actually quite a fascinating story. I'm intrigued, but not altogether convinced.
ReplyDeleteHockney is one of my favorite painters too, Sonia. (You can probably tell from looking at my website.) I haven't read his book yet, but I did follow the debate in the papers when it came out. There seemed to be a lot both pro and con. Now that you've reminded me I will put it on my book list!
ReplyDeleteOh, Thankyou for this lovely post! I shall now 'investigate' Hockney.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks.
I am not so familiar with David Hockney's work, although I am familiar with his name, so this is a lovely introduction. I am now intrigued by the artist, the art, and the controversies. I'll have to do some exploring. Thanks for this beautiful visual incentive.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it fascinating what a creative imagination can conceive and produce.
ReplyDeleteWonderful presentation of Hockeny and his work!
Sonia,
ReplyDeleteThanks for those. I had never really seen this artists works. Interesting. There was something so familiar about them though. I think I detect a hint of California (Berkely)in some of them
Thanks. Keep them comming.
Sonia, this is an intriguing post! You have roused my interest in this artist and I'll definitely look at more of his work and make a note of the book. Thank you so much for sharing his fascinating art works.
ReplyDeleteAnother of my favorite artists! I have a couple of books on Hockney and coincidentally was just enjoying one this weekend.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, you've chosen a great selection of paintings for your post.
OOoh, what amazing artworks. Thank you for sharing, once again.
ReplyDeleteTake care, Meow
A wonderful gallery you've shown. I really enjoy his color usage.
ReplyDeleteAnother excellent and well thought out post.
ReplyDeleteCOLORS! Love it....true art (in my opinion) is when the feeling is captured with something so simplistic.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 18 years old, my father took me to New York. My first trip to the big city. It was also my first time at a real museum, seeing original artwork. There happened to be a David Hockney exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I had never heard of him, but I was intrigued because my Dad seemed to really want to go.
ReplyDeleteI was blown away. I spent hours in the exhibit.
My absolute hands-down favorites were the photo collages. I've always wanted to try my own version.
I found "Secret Knowledge" fascinating--it has changed how I look at the Old Masters...It is interesting too that Hockney's mother lived to be 98 & was inspiration as well as subject in his art. The photo collages & depth of color are exceptional.
ReplyDelete"Mother "
ReplyDeleteAvec mes élèves , j'ai souvent construit des montages comme celui ci .
Avec des visages , avec des paysages , des fleurs ...
Les enfants aiment beaucoup cela .
I found myself drawn to the works from the 1960s. Like Edward Hopper, the lines and colors are minimal, but express so much. By following one of your links, I learned that one of his Grand Canyon paintings is in the National Gallery of Australia. That's yet another reason to visit Canberra again. I'll be on the lookout for that. Thanks, Sonia!
ReplyDeletestunning, amazing, wonderful, vibrant and rich. each piece spoke to me with deep feeling and memory--like they were already part of my comfortable past.
ReplyDeletethank you
They are some great pictures. I was not familiar with his work before.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my site. You'll notice that South America was on the list. I WILL get there one day....
Sonia, my dear...Thanks for your visit and your comment. I found all those images through Google and the 'vest' was such a visual statement I had to use it! Do send it to your kids!
ReplyDeleteHope you are well and that you have a lovely weekend, my dear.
Years and years ago I worked in an art museum. At one time we were having an exhibit of the work of Helen Frankenthaler. I'd never before been a fan of abstract work but I found her paintings intriguing and captivating. I didn't understand abstract painting and perhaps took it much too serious because one day when I was at work I found a middle-aged man with glasses and white hair laughing loudly in front of Frankenthaler's paintings. He was obviously appreciating them and finding much humour in them and I wanted to know why. I wish I'd asked him but I did not want to disturb a museum goer - it was only later that I realised the gentleman was David Hockney. I still wonder what he found so amusing in Frankenthaler's work.
ReplyDeleteHi Sonia!
ReplyDeleteOf course one thing I notice in one of the paintings is the kitty in "Mr. and Mrs. Clark Percy". Heh.
I really like "A Lawn Being Sprinkled".
:o)
Hi Sonia...
ReplyDeleteOh I hope you take some photo's of the Cactus in your garden...I would love to see the more of the plants you have there in Brazil! Thanks for coming by, my dear.
Hi Sonia..Thanks for your visit...I hope you take some pictures of the cacti around your garden cause I would love to see what type of plants you have right there in Brazil...As you know, I think they are pretty extraordinary plants and you and your husband take such great pictures...!
ReplyDeletesome great info on hockney, thanks! you've helped me complete my visual arts assignment.
ReplyDelete:)
Thank you Sonia!
ReplyDeleteGreat inform.
Best to you!