With the major exhibition “David Hockney – Moving Focus”, created in close collaboration with the Tate Gallery London, the Kunstmuseum Luzern presents one of the year’s most important cultural events. Born in 1937, the Briton is above all a freedom-loving individualist; he never much cared about movements and always did what he wanted – namely, paint. His outlook was shaped by curiosity, openness and an optimism he has kept to this day. “The world is very, very beautiful if you look at it closely, but most people don’t. I do. I look with great intensity and render what I see,” he explains.
The exhibition covers all the important creative periods and stations of his life – London, Los Angeles, Normandy – as well as his travels through Europe and the Arab world. From experimental early works through abstract pieces to multi-perspective paintings and prints, it gives a comprehensive overview. Particularly famous are the “Pool” pictures, made in 1960s L.A. – Pop Art at its best and the expression of a mood in which much seemed possible. At the centre stands “Bigger Trees Near Warter”, Hockney’s largest work: 4.5 by 12 metres, assembled from 50 canvases, painted over six weeks alternately in the studio and in nature.
Painting – to the Very End
The artist with the distinctive round glasses, always impeccably dressed and with a cigarette, has repeatedly turned to other media – photography, video art, and since 2010 many works are created on the iPad. Today, at 84, Hockney paints on: “I’m a worker. I have no intention of ever giving up and will paint until I die.” And he has remained a rebel – even if he goes to bed at 9 p.m. every evening so that, early in the morning, he can use the first light of day for his pictures. “David Hockney – Moving Focus”, Kunstmuseum Luzern, 9 July to 30 October 2022.
This article appeared in MEN issue 1/22 (May 2022).
