Significant David Hockney Exhibition Showcasing More than 400 Pieces Launches at Louis Vuitton Foundation
David Hockney’s Monumental Retrospective at Fondation Louis Vuitton: A Tribute to a Creative Titan
From personal portraits to sweeping vistas and groundbreaking digital creations, British artist David Hockney’s extensive career has influenced the course of contemporary art for more than seventy years. In a monumental endeavor, the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris has afforded Hockney an exceptional opportunity—utilizing all 11 galleries for an expansive retrospective entitled David Hockney 25. Running until August 31, 2025, the exhibition features over 400 works created between 1955 and 2025, making it the most extensive examination ever dedicated to the artist.
This unique exhibition honors not just Hockney’s enduring creativity and originality but also his relentless drive for renewal. At 87 years old, Hockney is still a vigorously active creative presence. He has played a critical role in curating this vast retrospective in collaboration with his longtime partner and studio manager Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima. While the exhibition includes landmark works from his formative years, Hockney has opted to emphasize pieces from the last 25 years—a time marked by dynamic experimentation and digital innovation.
A Look Back: The Foundations of a Legend
The exhibit is carefully organized chronologically, enabling visitors to track the development of Hockney’s artistic style and thematic concerns. Among the initial works on display are significant pieces like Portrait of My Father (1955), showcasing his exceptional talent even during his studies at Bradford School of Art.
Naturally, no exploration of Hockney’s influence would be comprehensive without his famous pool paintings, with notable works such as A Bigger Splash (1967) taking prominence. This Pop Art masterpiece, rendered in acrylic on canvas, captures the transient moment of a splash in a Los Angeles pool—a representation of both the fleeting and the idyllic. With its sharp geometry, flat hues, and narrative ambiguity, the painting exemplifies Hockney’s preoccupation with light, leisure, and the American dream.
Equally striking is Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy (1968), a large double portrait that reflects Hockney’s persistent fascination with intimacy and human connections. These works form the so-called “pool floor” of the exhibit, showcasing art from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Nature, Narrative, and New Technologies
As the exhibition progresses in time, it shifts its focus to Hockney’s extensive contributions from the 1980s and 1990s. These decades marked a renewed interest in portraiture and grand compositions grounded in natural surroundings. Works like Bigger Trees Near Warter or ou Peinture sur le Motif pour le Nouvel Age Post-Photographique (2007) provide stunning immersion into the English countryside, delivering remarkable scale and depth. Spanning 50 canvases and measuring 180 x 480 inches, it embodies Hockney’s vast ambitions and his commitment to plein air painting.
By the early 2000s, Hockney had developed a growing fascination with emerging technologies, particularly the possibilities of digital media. In works like 27th March 2020, No. 1, he fluidly transitions into the digital space. Created on an iPad and subsequently printed on five large panels, this piece captures vivid natural scenes with a spontaneity and vibrancy that only Hockney could achieve digitally. iPad drawings, once considered merely experimental, are elevated here to the status of fine art.
The Digital Renaissance
The digital dimension of David Hockney 25 is a revelation for many attendees. A significant portion of the exhibition highlights his iPad paintings, covering themes from blooming spring trees to introspective interiors and abstract reflections. Created while in Normandy during the COVID-19 pandemic, these works embody the resilience and adaptability of creativity. The result is an exhibition that feels alive, immediate, and profoundly contemporary, despite the artist nearing 90.
Recent works such as After Munch: Less is Known than People Think (2023) affirm that Hockney shows no signs of slowing down. Through bold brushwork and careful homage, he engages in a visual exchange with past artists while remaining grounded in the present. His ability to absorb new influences, adapt his methods, and sustain a distinctive artistic identity distinguishes him as a true master of his era.
A Retrospective Like No Other
“This exhibition means a lot to me because it’s the largest I’ve ever had,” David Hockney reflects. And indeed, its ambition is rivaled only by its realization. Visitors to the Fondation Louis Vuitton are immersed in an artistic odyssey that is as personal as it is expansive. They encounter not just the external landscapes painted by Hockney, but also the internal landscape of a life dedicated to observing, recording, questioning, and expressing.
David Hockney 25 represents a journey through time, technology, and the boundless vision of a