“Hockney experimented with many techniques throughout his career” – Kommersant FM
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Kommersant FM columnist Dmitry Butkevich talks about how the Englishman’s approach to art differs.
One of the world’s best-selling artists, David Hockney, was born in 1937 in Bradford (this is Yorkshire, England. Remember the Beatles’ “Going back to Bradford”?)
In 1957 he entered the Royal College of Art in London, where all the reformers later studied, including the Young British Artists. In the 1960s, he moved away from abstract expressionism and began experimenting with a style combining abstraction, figurative and pop art.
A few years later, when he moved to Los Angeles, his work became naturalistic and more autobiographical: he painted domestic scenes and his famous swimming pools, in particular the legendary “Big Splash”.
It is curious that this painting was sold for $5.4 million in 2006, and in 2020 it went for $29.9 million, an increase in price of 454%.
In 2002, after almost 40 years living in California, Hockney returned to his native England, where he again rethought the place of landscapes in the history of painting, becoming fascinated by the works of William Turner and John Constable and exploring rural Britain.
Hockney experimented with a variety of techniques throughout his career – photomontages, faxes and photocopiers at a time when these tools were just becoming popular; quick drawings on the iPhone using the Brushes Redux app and, of course, on the iPad, which has been his main work tool since its release in 2010.
Today, on his tablet, he depicts the evolution of the seasons and the life of plants with amazingly casual artistry. This is outdoor work, like the Impressionists, but in a digital format.
At 86, Hockney continues to observe the world around him (landscapes, domestic scenes, flowers, self-portraits) and dialogue between classical techniques and the technologies of his time. He now lives in French Normandy, in Rumenil.
And so far, according to the interim results of the 2023 auction year, it is confidently among the top ten global auction sales.
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