David Hockney’s upcoming retrospective is “the largest exhibition I’ve ever had,” says the British contemporary artist, who is most famous for painting crisp California swimming pools. Come spring, the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris will bring together hundreds of original works by Hockney that span decades and artistic mediums.
“I Think It’s Going to Be Very Good,” Says David Hockney
At 87 years old, David Hockney isn’t just one of the world’s most famous living artists. He also never stopped blazing new creative trails—from popularizing acrylic painting in the 1960s to legitimizing iPad art in the 2010s. Arriving at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris this spring, David Hockney 25 will span seven decades. It will also fill up the entire building.
The retrospective comprises over 400 works, including oil and acrylic paintings, drawings, digital art, and video installations. Among these are loans from institutional and private collections, as well as works from the artist’s own studio and foundation. In a statement, Hockney said, “This exhibition means an enormous amount because it is the largest exhibition I’ve ever had—11 rooms in the Fondation Louis Vuitton. Some of the most recent paintings I’m working on now will be included in it, and I think it’s going to be very good.”
Old Favorites Inspire New Hockney Paintings
Get the latest articles delivered to your inbox
Sign up to our Free Weekly NewsletterThe Paris retrospective includes never-before-seen works, including two sister paintings that pay homage to Edvard Munch, painter of The Scream, and William Blake, the Romantic poet and artist. After Blake: Less Is Known than People Think, a colorful canvas with a playful, dreamlike quality, was painted in 2023. David Bindman, a Blake scholar, noted that a watercolor in Tate Britain’s collection—Dante and Virgil Approaching the Angel Who Guards the Entrance of Purgatory by William Blake—directly inspired Hockney. “It’s an important moment in Dante’s self-discovery,” explained Bindman. “It’s interesting Hockney should have chosen that particular phase. Hockney’s painting is pretty impressive, perhaps suggesting a journey of self-discovery.”
Painted in 2024, After Munch: Less Is Known than People Think is equally vibrant and thought-provoking. At the center of the composition, an old philosopher sits under a tree, gazing outward. A pair of arrows and handwritten text indicate the past and future extend beyond either side of the canvas. According to Hockney, the titles of these paintings were inspired by a headline he read in the New York Times over 20 years ago: “Less is known than people think.”
David Hockney 25 Opens April 9 in Paris
The Fondation Louis Vuitton promises that David Hockney 25 “will be exceptional in its scale and its originality.” The artist himself contributed heavily to “every aspect of the exhibition” and has “participated in the composition of each sequence and the layout of each space.” The retrospective emphasizes the past 25 years of Hockney’s career alongside a selection of his especially iconic earlier works. David Hockney 25 opens at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris on April 9 and runs through September 1, 2025.
