David Hockney, Sur le Motif, from Twenty Photographic Pictures, 1974/1976. David Hockney.
—By Hebe Reynolds, Associate Researcher, Editions
Are you in the market for a sofa-isticated look, or wanting to chair-ish the moment with a fantastic fixture? There is something for both first-time buyers and seasoned property flippers as our dedicated David Hockney sale showcases the artist’s keen eye for interior design. Hockney’s household goods come in various forms: digital dahlias would make a wonderful addition to a kitchen top counter, while a topsy-turvy tabletop is a showstopper like no other. Furniture, fittings and fixings, Hockney’s savvy guide spans fifty years of the artist’s oeuvre, tailor-made for any avid collector looking to spice up their living room leisure. Ditch the Argos catalogue, save that trip to Ikea (even if the Swedish meatballs are super tasty) — Hockney is the feng-shui enthusiast who has the answers to all your decorating dilemmas.
An open door with a lot to share
David Hockney, Untitled (577) (Two Robes), 2010. David Hockney.
Any dedicated DIY-er knows to start with the interior colour scheme, and what goes better with lime green than turmeric-tailored cabinetry? Ignore the bottles and toiletries; this modern mid-century is so à la mode. In Untitled (577) (Two Robes), the artist has oh-so-graciously invited us into his real, lived-in space. The guess whose is whose robes that hang on the back of the door hint at the occupants’ presence — do you like pink, David? Functionary yet fashionable, Hockney depicts his bathroom as it was just left. Most of the scene lies out of sight, however, leaving us to glean indications of personality and memory from the few visible personal items. Through his colour-packed, digitally textured portrait without people, Hockney demonstrates the power of the domestic environment to provide psychological insight into the absent occupants, to open the hidden doors and cupboards of the emotional interior.
A dizzying dinner date
David Hockney, Tyler Dining Room, from Moving Focus, 1984. David Hockney.
No house is complete without a sizeable chandelier, two glass vases, fuchsia walls, an ocean-blue carpet and an enormous oak dining table that can sit eight of your closest acquaintances. Step into the shoes of Hockney and you are whisked off your feet, transported into a room layered with textures, colour and detail. Collaborating with master printer Kenneth Tyler, Hockney embarked on his ambitious Moving Focus series that dives deep into his enduring fascination with image construction, spatial complexity, and the assembly of multiple perspectives.
Adopting the Picasso-esque Cubist mindset, Hockney deconstructs expectation while reconstructing time, movement and different viewpoints. The image is dynamic: it is a composite of various scenes amalgamated together. Placing the smaller end of the table in the foreground and the wider side at the back flips reality on its head — we are sat at the head of a table that physically cannot exist, but who cares? Tyler Dining Room invites us to witness not just the oh-so-chic interior décor of this exact space, but allows us to glimpse a mosaic of all the dining spaces we have ever encountered, intertwined in a vibrant tapestry of memory and perception. Hockney makes it easy for an indecisive shopper: why have one when you can have them all?
Stop and smell the digital daisies
Left: David Hockney, No. 281, 23rd July 2010, from My Window: Art Edition B, 2010/2019. Right: David Hockney, No. 535, 28th June 2009, from My Window: Art Edition A, 2009/2019.
Now that we’ve got the basics down, it’s time for decorating. Pick your poison — petunia or poppy, peony or primrose? Hockney’s got them all. Between 2009 and 2010, the artist adopted a digital medium that has since become a staple in his practice. Upon its release, Hockney began using the iPhone as his pen and pencil, the tactile mistiness of his mark-making the result of his grappling with a new medium. Free from the intermediary of a stylus, Hockney’s direct interaction with the iPhone screen is reflected in the spontaneity and directness of the work. A cadmium carnation sits upon an intricate vase (care to tell us your Valentine?) while spiked green and black foliage burst forth with an energy amassed from frenetic excitement. A budding genius, Hockney here is exploring the full potential of his virtual toolkit, a raw depiction focusing on tonal variation and seeing from life as opposed to embellishing reality.
Keep it seated
Left: David Hockney, Number One Chair, from Moving Focus (M.C.A.T. 287), 1985–86. Right: David Hockney, Chair, 38 The Colony, Malibu, 1973.
So, you’re allergic to lilies? Hockney has something more for those fiendish furniture fanatics who are looking for a show-stopping staple to decorate their spaces. Hockney’s Number One Chair is a great listener. Front-line and centre-stage, all extraneous detail is pushed to the background. And who can resist the floral pink cushion to buffer your bad days? This relaxing recliner is cosy, comforting, and lived in.
Empty chairs, heavy with absence, are a recurring motif in Hockney’s work. They function as narrative devices, prompting us to imagine their missing occupant. Not sure about a woven Wingback? How about this unfussy armchair perfect for upholstery: Chair, 38 The Colony, Malibu. By frustrating our desire for a person or sitter, Hockney subverts the traditional hierarchical importance of the figure in portraiture. Instead, Hockey’s armchair is the subject, revealing a world of memories, intimate domesticity, and eccentricity.
A hearty hearth for wholesome home-making
David Hockney, A Bigger Fire, from My Normandy, 2020. David Hockney.
It’s been a long day of furniture-perusing and wallpaper-choosing. Pull up your (arm)chair and put your feet up by Hockney’s A Bigger Fire. A burning hearth of inviting embers entices our primal senses with its fiery flickering. Traditional granite is so sought after, and that complementary red brick is just what I’m looking for. Adding two lanterns helps balance the scene, while a traditional bellows and broom add a cottage-core aesthetic to the graceful grates.
Unassuming, personal, thought-provoking and always carefully selected, David Hockney’s fashion-first furnishings help decorate any home. From Normandy dwellings to Notting Hill flats, Californian boulevards to the bucolic Yorkshire dales, Hockney’s homespun habit of documenting everything around him has given us a taste of his signature interior style. But if you’re really stuck for inspiration, why not decorate your space with one of these Hockney prints? After all, home is where the art is.