On the cusp of his 80th birthday, one of Britain’s most successful artists, David Hockney is holding the most extensive exhibition of his work starting right now at Tate Britain. And it just happens to be the fastest selling in Tate history!
You can take the man out of Yorkshire but you can’t take the Yorkshire out of the man! And the no-nonsense, cigarette and ale loving artist still donned his flat cap and cardigan as he dryly suffered the barrage of press interviews he gave to highlight this exhibition.
With his beautifully unique and colourful post-modernist paintings as recognisable as Picasso, a huge David Hockney retrospective exhibition like this is not to be sniffed at and maybe the last one ever held while he’s alive.
The exhibition is an unprecedented overview of his work from 1961, through the ’70s and ’80s and up until the present day. Some of the highlights include “A Lawn Being Sprinkled” and many of the distinct LA-based swimming pool scenes like The Bigger Splash and Peter Getting Out Of Nick’s Pool that has become one of his iconic signatures.
Alex Farquharson, Director of the Tate said,
“David Hockney is without doubt one of Britain’s greatest living artists. His work is both consistent, with its core concerns, while also wonderfully diverse. Hockney’s impact on post-war art, and culture more generally is inestimable, and this is a fantastic opportunity to see the full trajectory of his career to date.”
© DAVID HOCKNEY PHOTO CREDIT: RICHARD SCHMIDT
The Bradford born artist burst out of the pop art movement of the 1960s alongside names like Warhol, his colourful works have been equally matched by his colourful personality and wit.
Catch the exhibition while you can.