LOVE LIFE - DAVID HOCKNEY DRAWINGS 1963-1977 David Hockney Collection

About the productJapanese

A collection of works by British artist David Hockney. This book was published in conjunction with the exhibition held at the Holburne Museum in Bath, England from May to September 2022, and the exhibition currently being held at Charleston in Lewes from September 2023 to March 2024.

In 2017, prior to the opening of a retrospective at the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou (CNAC-GP) in Paris, Hockney inscribed "Love Life" on the final wall of the exhibition. This simple exhortation has become a catchphrase, calling on people to enjoy the simple beauty of the world around him.

The artist's love for life can be felt through his works, which include paintings of his native Yorkshire created between 2011 and 2013, and more recently the arrival of spring in Normandy. This exhibition shows how his belief in "Love Life" has underpinned his art since the 1960s.

"The exhibition reveals his delight in the world around him, his deep observations and how he distilled a given scene into a painting in the most succinct way, like visual poetry," said museum director Chris Stephens.

A matchbox on a table, an ordinary leek. This sense of "joy" is also evident in the way he depicts the exteriors and interiors of buildings, with an interest in empty rooms, chairs, and windows. This is also important in his portrait drawings, where he closely observes and captures the individuality of his subjects in minute detail. Whatever he depicts, whether it be the twisted tie of restaurateur Peter Langan, a cigar between the fingers of curator Henry Geldzahler... or Marcel Breuer sitting with textile designer Celia Birtwell, or a car driving through a Vienna street in the background of artist RB Kitaj, he always portrays it with a sensitivity and a certain wit that is very characteristic.

The drawings from the 1960s and 1970s are one of the artist's best series. This exhibition, which features 41 drawings on loan from a private collection, is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy Hockney's extraordinary ability to carefully observe the world around him and transform it into art, as Chris Stevens emphasizes. As mentioned above, his friends, places and still lifes are depicted with insight and energy.

"I love my work, and there is love in my work, and I love life. And I end my letters with, 'Love life, David Hockney.'" -- David Hockney

Product Information

release date Available now

Part numberGART13108W-9781843682370

Specification Hardcover / 96p / H22.5 x W22.5cm / English

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