David Hockney RA: A Bigger Picture Exhibition

Artistic genius, style icon, British legend – we could only be talking about one man and that is Mr David Hockney. Having been living the high life in California for many years, Hockney decided it was high time to come home to his native England, in particular his hometown of Bridlington, Yorkshire. Inspired by the picturesque English countryside Hockney developed the ‘Bigger Picture’ Exhibition, a truly awe inspiring collection of landscape paintings intricately depicting the glorious Yorkshire views of his childhood.

The breath taking exhibition, displaying over 150 of Hockney’s finest paintings and installations takes a nostalgic look back at some of his finest works including Rocky Mountains and Tired Indians (1965) and A Closer Grand Canyon (1998) culminating in the staggering collection of Yorkshire landscape masterpieces, offering fans an unrestricted insight into the mind of the aspiring young artistic who was to become a world phenomena. Forever setting the bar for fellow artists, David Hockney’s new exhibition is so much more than just landscape paintings as he openly embraces new technology. As well as vast digital screens that depict particular painting motifs (simultaneously using nine and eighteen cameras), Hockney also reproduces stunning iPad drawings which chronologically mark the change in season surrounding The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate East, the exhibitions mesmerising 32 canvas finale.

Though world renowned as one of the great artists of his time, David Hockney is also no stranger to world of fashion, and in particular his heady influence on High fashion designers; exemplified by Jasper Conran and Dame Vivienne Westwood’s presence at the exhibitions star studded preview. A design fashion muse, David Hockney has been setting the style pace from as early back as the 1960’s with his quirky, dandy aesthetic. Even now, many years since his fashion heyday Hockney continues to delight, arriving at his exhibition wearing a less than subdued red knitted tie complemented beautifully by a yellow rose firmly fixed in his lapel.

Offering up a bizarre culmination of style inspiration, David Hockney has been the instigator behind many high fashion runway shows over the years. Christopher Bailey of Burberry claims to have drawn whole collections based on the artist’s colourful mismatched style, and Vivienne Westwood even named a checked jacket after the man himself! Most recent to accredit Hockney’s fashion flare was designer Osman, who’s S/S 12 catwalk collection of sexy, fresh and colourful pieces positively oozed Hockney aplomb. It is evidently clear from scouring Hockney fashion history that bright colours and zany prints aren’t solely reserved for his paintings, full of character and spunk Hockney embraces his style status wholeheartedly through wardrobe, art, and personality.

David Hockney RA: A Bigger Picture
Royal Academy of the Arts
21 January – 9 April 2012
Sponsored by BNP Paribas, Tourism Partner: Welcome To Yorkshire

Jenna Jones