Lot 16

Private collection, Melbourne

After spending his formative years in Yorkshire UK, it was no surprise that upon arrival in Los Angeles David Hockney's ensuing artworks delved into a world of leisure and bright light, completely removed from the greyness of the Britain he had left behind. It was in America, that Hockney would create his most revered subjects and series.

Detouring through New York on his way to Los Angeles in 1978, Hockney paid a visit to his close friend, Kenneth Tyler, who had been encouraging Hockney to come and work from his studio. The pair had previously worked together in 1965 when they created a suite of lithographs, titled A Hollywood Collection, that consisted of six prints that reflect the city's artificial beauty.
Hockney was eager to learn about new creative methods, and was immediately taken with Kenneth's explanation of the paper pulp process. This process involved adding coloured dyes into wet paper pulp, manipulating the pulp whilst still wet with various tools, and then pressing into sheets of paper before drying. Intrigued and liberated by this new method, Hockney realised that this process could offer many variations of a theme. Hockney stated, "I love new mediums […] they always let you do something in a different way, even if you take the same subject, if you draw it in a different way, or if you are forced to simplify it, to make it bold because it is too finicky, I like that."(1)

Working each day in Kenneth's studio that looked out onto his pool, Hockney would observe the light transitions and the shadows dancing and glistening upon the water throughout the day. Spending time photographing his friends swimming, as well as the shadowing ripples of the water, the artist found himself thinking of variations to create in paper pulp. Over 27 days, Hockney produced 29 variations of the subject at different angles, movements and sizes as original paper pulp works known as the Paper Pools series.
To complete the series, Hockney published a book on the Paper Pools journey with Thames and Hudson. This book illustrates the series through illustrations and reference photographs that depict different angles of light, along with Hockney noting the process and works created. In celebration of the book's release, Hockney then revisited the lithographic medium to produce Pool Made with Paper and Blue Ink for Paper Pools. This six-colour, hand drawn lithograph demonstrates the importance of Hockney's collaborative relationship with Kenneth Tyler and embodies the artist's favourite subject matter, water, and its challenging multi-faceted forms.

Hannah Ryan
Art Specialist

(1) Hockney, D., Paper Pools 1980, p. 10, Thames and Hudson, New York

RELATED WORK:
David Hockney, A Bigger Splash 1967, acrylic paint on canvas, 242 x 243cm, the Collection of the Tate Britain, London.
David Hockney, The Splash 1966, acrylic on canvas, 183 x 183cm, Sotheby's, London, 11 February 2020, lot 16.