EXHIBITION - Tate Britain - DAVID HOCKNEY 60 Years of Work

A lawn being sprinkled, 1967

Peter getting out of Nick's pool, 1966                                              Sunbather, 1966

Seeing such a huge amount of Hockney's work was really overwhelming, yet really insightful as the exhibition displayed the artist's development from art school to now, with all the different directions taken along the way. The work that I was most excited to see were Hockney's swimming pool paintings. I think for me this was because they seem most demonstrative of Hockney's very characterised approach to image making, through line quality and gesture. Hockney seems to achieve a tone of voice and aesthetic that is very unique and illustrative in quality. Considering, both the pool images above, both explore line quality as a means of employing gesture. It is interesting that Hockney has used line in this way to communicate the qualities of water rather than attempting to mimic photorealistic imagery. This line quality not only employs gesture to assert a narrative, it also works to foster an illustrative and characterised image. 

From the swimming pool images, and the wider exhibition, I recognised that Hockney's playful aesthetic and very sophisticate consideration of line and mark is something that transforms Hockney's  practice from drawing to image making. It is Hockney's decision making and employment of visual devices such a line quality that translate his way of seeing into a very unique body of work.

Twenty 6th V.N. painting, 1992

Hotel Aclatan, 1984

Something which also appeared pivotal to Hockney's wider practice was colour. Most of his work seems to revolve around saturated, warm tones, creating very fun and playful imagery. Many images seem characterised by saturated colour as this works to elevate subject matter and enhance value and hierarchy. Consideration of colour, particularly in the image above, seems to work simultaneously with mark making to achieve a delicate yet playful tone of voice sensitive to Hockney's observations of ways of living. Texture here works with colour to capture a playful aesthetic, helping Hockney's work to resonate with a wider audience through its perhaps more joyous and celebratory approach to still life painting.

Red pots in the garden, 2000

From seeing such an extensive body of Hockney's work, I am interested to consider Hockney more as an illustrator than by his 'fine artist' label. I think this is informed by his visual language, informed by visual devices, gesture and colour palettes, Hockney seems to communicate his observations through what he chooses to see and how he chooses to see it.