Walk of Art with David Hockney
Art has a way of transcending boundaries, and at INTERPLAY, we set out to explore just how deeply it can inspire. The Walk of Art began at INTERPLAY as an inspiring field trip program, bringing together team members from all roles and responsibilities to spend a day learning through art and its masters.
For our inaugural journey, we explored David Hockney’s exhibition in the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, immersing ourselves in his life, portraiture, and relentless pursuit of detail.
The KID Behind the Masterpieces
David Hockney, born in 1937 in Bradford, Yorkshire, grew up in a modest working-class family. Despite financial limitations, his parents prioritized education and dreams for their children. His father, a man of progressive ideals, opposed nuclear arms and smoking—uncommon stances in mid-20th century England. These values and an environment of open-mindedness shaped young David profoundly.
From a young age, Hockney knew he was destined to be an artist. His dad used to watch “Laurel and Hardy” often on TV, an American Talkies comedy show led by a comedic duo. What got most attention of David wasn’t the funny cartoonish story-line of the show, but the environment of the sets, the intensity of the sun and the contrast of Light and Shadow of the American climate, very different to the English one he was used to.
This fascination with light would later drive him across the Atlantic to sunny California, where he discovered the light and shadow of his imagination—and the countless pools that would define his artistic identity.
In 1958, he came out of the closet and publicly affirmed his homosexuality, a bold move at a time when such declarations were met with persecution. 2 years later, he moved to Los Angeles, and right before landing, he saw the countless pools laid out beneath him, something he could’ve never seen in London. He was fascinated by the texture, the reflections, and what he enjoyed the most was to paint them.
Californian skies, palm trees, and swimming pools became recurring motifs in his work, seen in iconic pieces like A Bigger Splash, where the dazzling sunlight, crisp architecture, and serene blue waters evoke the hedonistic charm of California living.
A Bigger Splash is one of his most famous paintings, where you can spot all typical Californian elements, like the blue sky, the palm trees and a director’s chair.
This culture of pools, prefabricated lines and Mid-Century architecture caught the attention of many artists during that time; even Japanese artists like Hiroshi Nagai, who I’m sure also took some inspiration from Hockney’s art style.
From Pools to Portraits
Hockney’s unique artistic style evolved from his experiences, merging personal moments with larger cultural narratives.
He often depicted themes of intimacy, such as in Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), with an uncommon approach painting two figures in a composition where the tension between love and desire is palpable. Featuring his former partner Peter Schlesinger, who looks at another man’s figure underwater, representing what could have been the cause of their relationship to end: desiring someone else. This masterpiece became the most expensive work sold by a living artist, fetching $90 million.
While art dealers categorized him within the Pop Art movement, Hockney resisted labels. His work, deeply personal and reflective, transcended movements. He saw himself as an innovator, challenging conventions and embracing new mediums, from photography and fax machines to iPad sketches and even AI technology.
Portraits are 20 hour exposures
Hockney’s career is a testament to his boundless curiosity. He continually reinvented his approach, whether by exploring the immersive potential of panoramic landscapes or experimenting with digital tools in his later years. Notably, he described painting as a medium of timeless depth:
“Photographs capture a fraction of a second.
Paintings, however, capture time itself.”
Portraiture has also been a common method he’s liked to use to dedicate to his friends, like the textile designer Celia Birtwell and family members, including the artist’s mother and his partner Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima, and even the famous artist Harry Styles unveiled in 2022. He has always tried to capture something more than their appearance, managing to get the essence and the character of the models. He also claimed that portraiture shouldn’t be old-fashioned genre: artists have to strive to make it more current.
In his exhibit called “82 Portraits and One Still Life”, Hockney compared his portraits to photographs, calling them “20 hour exposures”.
The reason? Photographs have a fraction of a second in them. Drawings and paintings, of course, have more time, because it takes time to do it. Why not look longer at something?
“Paintings can’t die, because photography is not good enough, actually.”
In the 1980s, he embraced fax machines as a means of creating art. He would send sketches and drawings to friends and collaborators using fax technology, which was innovative at the time. This allowed him to explore a new medium for his artistic expression and share his work over long distances in a unique way. Hockney’s willingness to embrace new technologies highlights his adaptability and creativity as an artist.
These past years, he’s been trying different forms of landscaping, experimenting the dimensions of his works and changing the experience of the viewer: a normal size canvas makes us feel like we are looking through a window (the painting’s frame), but changing the format into a long panoramic paintings makes us feel like we’re being surrounded in the space, immersed in that painted scene.
Recently, a sudden seizure affected his ability to speak, but not to paint, his craving to paint made him shift to a new method of painting: his later works, including vibrant flower still-lifes created on iPads, showcase his ability to adapt and thrive with emerging technologies while appealing to younger audiences.
LESSONS FROM HOCKNEY
Walking through Hockney’s exhibit reminded us at INTERPLAY of the power of observation. As Hockney once said:
“Most people don’t look much.
They scan the ground in front of them, so they can move around.
I’ve spent my life looking.”
Inspired by his relentless curiosity and innovative spirit, our team left the museum with a renewed perspective—not just on art, but on the act of seeing itself.
David Hockney’s art is more than color and form; it’s not about perfect perspective or precise proportions but about capturing the extraordinary in the everyday. His work invites us to go beyond the obvious and notice the subtle details that make life fascinating—from clouds shaped like animals and the pattern of a friend’s shirt to the tiny stones scattered along a park path. It’s a celebration of life, a reflection of the self, and a challenge to always seek light in the shadows.
Biography
theCanvas:https: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ6IK8UmcZM&ab_channel=TheCanvas
BBC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-0UXBcjlRY&ab_channel=G%C3%B6ktu%C4%9FDemir
Podcast: Nushi Muntaabski
Podcast: Royal Academy of Arts – An Introduction to David Hockney