Friday, February 17, 2012

My World Famous Neighbour

By Roger Crossland - Senior Partner of The Token House Partnership & Founder of First Bookshop (2000) and Garforth Bookshop (1987).

Imagine my surprise a few years back when I discovered that the most famous living artist David Hockney resided just up the road from me. A friend of mine had to point out exactly which house this was, but now it never ceases to amaze me! As I understand, this was originally his Mother's house, but after she died at the grand old age of 99 he decided to move in - must have been the stunning sea views that won him over! So many world famous artists did not reach the peak of their success until after they died, but David Hockney has been successful since the 1960's and although today aged in his mid 70's his innovative career just goes from strength to strength, currently showing a considerable number of his works at The Royal Academy of Arts from 21 January - 9 April 2012.

The following has been taken from their website at :
http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/hockney/

The Royal Academy of Arts presents the first major exhibition of new landscape works by David Hockney RA. Featuring vivid paintings inspired by the East Yorkshire landscape, these large-scale works have been created especially for the galleries at the Royal Academy of Arts.

'David Hockney RA: A Bigger Picture' spans a 50 year period to demonstrate Hockney’s long exploration and fascination with the depiction of landscape.

The exhibition includes a display of his iPad drawings and a series of new films produced using 18 cameras, which are displayed on multiple screens and provide a spellbinding visual journey through the eyes of David Hockney.