Grobere Baume bei Warter (2008) by David Hockney, via Kunsthalle Wuerth

Currently on view at the Kunsthalle Wurth Museum in Schwabisch Hall, Germany, is “Just Nature” featuring David Hockney’s most recent work. Contrary to previous assertions, the exhibition highlights his rediscovery of the beautiful landscapes of his hometown of Yorkshire.  Best known for his work as an experimental painter, these works emphasize his newly found enthusiasm for natural scenes.  Even while masterfully mixing realistic yet simple renditions of the natural world, these works still continue to question the potential of painting.  There seem to remain hints of his earlier paintings renowned for their ability to capture the conceptual and the everyday so well. 

David Hockney: Just Nature [Exhibition Page]
David Hockney and his so-called computer art [TimesUK]
David Hockney Shaves, Doodles with his iPhone: Martin Grayford [Bloomberg]
Hockney on why iPhones are the future for art [TimeUK]
Hockney Pictures [Hockney Pictures]

Gefallte Baume in Woldgate (2008) by David Hockney, via Kunsthalle Wuerth

Drei Baume in der Nahe zu Thixendale (2007) by David Hockney, via Kunsthalle Wuerth

Hockney hand selected over 70 large-format paintings, drawings and inkjet printed computer drawings of landscapes for the Kunsthalle Wurth making it the largest and most comprehensive museum exhibit of the artist’s Yorkshire landscapes to be revealed to the public for the first time. Many of the paintings on view are multi-panelled with some even consisting of six panels. Moreover, the artist has become intrigued by new technology. Many of his drawings are now created on his computer as well as his iPhone. “The computer is a terrific medium,” he told Bloomberg. “What you are really doing is drawing in a printing machine. You don’t look at your hand, you look at the screen. Then I print out what I’ve done to see what it’s looking like, see what colors I’ve got. You just use the colors that the printing machine makes.” 

Grobere Baume bei Warter (2008) by David Hockney via Kunsthalle Wuerth

The light-filled gallery in the Kunsthalle Wurth where Hockney’s work is displayed was converted from an old brewery in the medieval town of Schwabisch Hall. Many have marveled over how the artist chose such a location for the exhibition. ‘Why did I do this exhibition? I’ll be frank, I did it for myself to see all the work together. At first I didn’t take much interest in it, but when I came here I thought, ‘it is a lovely area…with individual trees and everyone is different, just like we are’…Also I knew that journalists would travel to see an exhibition. It’s an opportunity you don’t get often, and I am an opportunist I must admit,’ he told The Independent.

Weizenfeld auberhalb Woldgate (2006) by David Hockney, via Kunsthalle Wuerth

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