Splash: ode to hockney
Sophie Breitmeyer
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art|untamed
SPLASH: ODE TO HOCKNEY
There is no denying that David Hockney’s name conjures up images of Californian swimming pools under cloudless skies. Throughout the sixties he spent many stints going back and forth between California and England. He became fixated with the ripples created by the reflections of water in swimming pools and the challenge of how to paint water.
When he wasn’t teaching at the University of California in Berkeley, he would reside back to Notting Hill, where he owned a flat (which doubled up as his studio) from 1962 – 1973. That flat was on none other than Powis Terrace…where Sophie Brietmeyer’s studio sits today.
What many people don’t realise is that this is where Hockney created some of his most recognised masterpieces to date. Both “The Bigger Splash” and “Pool with Two Figures” were based on drawings and sketches that he had conceived in California, and then executed back in his Notting Hill studio.
Collectively, the works in the exhibition largely explore different depictions of swimming pools and other water themed works; many of them displaying Hockney’s playful wit and raw instinct for colour while some are subtler and more realistic in their approach.
Image: Hockney at home at 17 Powis Terrace, 1972
Part of the exhibition is inspired by Hockney’s show at the Royal Academy in 2016: “82 Portraits and 1 Still Life”. The walls were painted a deep red, intensifying the portraits; which were generally completed in six-hour bursts over a concentrated two-year period.
One portrait by acclaimed artist, Rosalie Watkins, now sits on a newly painted red wall in Sophie Breitmeyer’s studio; a bold statement amidst the remaining light blue walls. This is directly influenced by Hockney’s first exhibition fully dedicated to portraiture.
We hope you enjoy the eclectic mix of works we have collated in order to celebrate David Hockney, one of the most successful living artists in the world today.
Image: Hockney visiting his exhibition at the Royal Academy in 2016: “82 Portraits and 1 Still Life”
Watch our short exhibition video below…
