A gallery showcasing the final project the late David Hockney was involved in has reopened in Bradford this week. Cartwright Hall has reopened the David Hockney Gallery, which features work from across the Bradford-born artist’s long career.
The new gallery showcases everything from sketches he drew as a student in Bradford to iPad artwork he created in his final decade. First opened in 2017 as part of Hockney’s 80th birthday celebrations, it featured photographs, paintings and early sketches, including the huge Le Plongeur, one of Hockney’s famous swimming pool paintings.
The gallery closed last year to make way for the Turner Prize exhibition at Cartwright Hall. Plans to refresh it ahead of its reopening took on added significance when Hockney died in June, aged 88.
The gallery, which is free to enter and runs until 21 October 2029, opened its doors yesterday (Wednesday 21 October) with a completely new look and numerous works of art created by the notoriously prolific artist since 2017. The exhibition includes pieces from Bradford Council’s collection, as well as works from private collections.
Curator Jill Iredale said: “This is a complete refresh. We wanted to do something a bit different. There are new works in this. We didn’t want it to be exactly the same as the last gallery – it will change again in another few years to keep it fresh. Some of the artwork here is early sketches from when he was first learning to draw. There is work from when we went to London, and you can really see the change.
“Hockney was very involved in all aspects of his exhibitions up until his passing, and this exhibition was already approved and agreed on beforehand. He was approving which pictures would be in this exhibition, and it was one of the last projects he was working on. His team have been great; they were very committed to making his wishes happen in really difficult circumstances.”
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Feature Image Credit: Cartwright Hall
